tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/overeating-34206/articlesOvereating – The Conversation2023-12-21T10:30:17Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2197842023-12-21T10:30:17Z2023-12-21T10:30:17ZOvereating at Christmas can cause weight gain – but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s permanent<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566864/original/file-20231220-19-v3wltp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5455%2C3628&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many of us look forward to sharing Christmas dinner with friends and family.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/diverse-family-clinking-glasses-sparkling-wine-2204856027">DC Studio/ Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The holidays are a time of indulgence, with most celebrations centred on having festive food and drinks. It’s no wonder then that most people expect to gain some weight over Christmas. </p>
<p>Indeed, plenty of research suggests that people can gain a couple of kilos over the festive period. But whether this weight gain is only temporary or not depends on many factors. </p>
<p>First, it’s important to note that our body weight varies quite a lot from day to day. One <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0232152">study of three European countries</a> suggested that adults tend to be 0.35% heavier on a Monday than they were the previous Friday. </p>
<p>This might be due to people eating differently at weekends. Or it could be down to natural fluctuations in our weight – with one study finding <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03014467400000011">weight can change</a> by an average of 1kg (2.2lb) in a single day thanks to activity levels, fluid retention and food intake.</p>
<p>But when it comes to the Christmas period, weight gain tends to fluctuate more. Research shows that at Christmas, people saw their <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0232152">weight increase</a> by 1.35% on average (about 1.2kg or 3lb).</p>
<p>Research from Australia also shows that adults gain around 0.65% body weight over the <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2807660">Christmas period</a> (which falls during their summer). This is particularly interesting, as the study found participants tended to weigh 0.23% less in the summer compared to the winter. </p>
<p>This suggests that Christmas weight gain may be solely down to overeating – not because people are exercising less during the cold winter months. </p>
<p>But is this weight gain actually due to an increase in body fat? Or is it simply because of bloating, fluid retention and having more food in our stomachs?</p>
<h2>Calorie count</h2>
<p>When looking at how much people eat on Christmas day itself, there’s little in the way of rigorous research. </p>
<p>But if we look at American Thanksgiving – a holiday similarly characterised by indulgence and overeating – research shows people <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01615440.2021.2010153?casa_token=UF1TfKOlsocAAAAA%3AST5MZTZ0EjbjRKs_lnpBBSXyMEJVqUDg2R3x7UklPFEYjcnW9TtffwIJ9m6Tw4Vro5mlOePJYic">eat around 3,960 calories</a> at Thanksgiving dinner alone. This translates to an approximately <a href="https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2891-5-29?report=reader">0.5kg (1.1lb) weight increase</a> at the end of the Thanksgiving period.</p>
<p>That’s nearly double the <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/food-and-diet/what-should-my-daily-intake-of-calories-be/">daily recommended calorie requirements</a> for the average adult woman and almost one-and-a-half times the recommended requirements for an adult man. </p>
<p>But just because it’s double the amount of calories we need, this doesn’t mean we may necessarily gain weight.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A family walks outdoors in the winter." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566866/original/file-20231220-21-hurgjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566866/original/file-20231220-21-hurgjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566866/original/file-20231220-21-hurgjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566866/original/file-20231220-21-hurgjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566866/original/file-20231220-21-hurgjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566866/original/file-20231220-21-hurgjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566866/original/file-20231220-21-hurgjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A post-dinner walk with family may off-set some of the calories – and help with digestion.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/family-running-on-country-road-autumn-1558478252">avtk/ Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For many years, it was believed that consuming an additional 3,500 calories or more over a week would result in 0.5kg (1lb) of weight gain. But <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3859816/">research now suggests</a> this might not necessarily be true for everyone. Many factors can affect how easily a person gains weight – and how many additional calories per week it takes to do this.</p>
<p>For example, it seems that, in general, men gain weight <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3880593/">less easily</a> than women, linked to differences in body composition and where fat tends to be stored. Other factors – including body size and weight as well as how much muscle you have, age and how physically active you are – can also affect how easily you <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3880593/">might gain weight</a>. </p>
<p>Additionally, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41576-021-00414-z">your genes</a> and some health conditions (such as an <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0002934384908428">underactive thyroid</a>) can influence how easy it is to gain weight.</p>
<p>So it’s possible that even if different people eat the same number of extra calories over Christmas, one person may gain more weight than the other.</p>
<p>Another consideration is that many of us are eating additional calories on more than just one day over the holidays. For some of us, the holiday indulgence begins in early December, or even late November. This increases the likelihood you’ll gain weight over the holidays.</p>
<p>But let’s say you’re only going to be indulging on Christmas day. It’s unlikely you can eat so much in a single day as to lead to significant weight gain. This is partly because of how our metabolism works – which balances itself over <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3302369/">several days</a>. </p>
<p>Still, you might feel that single day of overeating for a few days afterwards as a result – meaning you feel “heavier”, even if you haven’t actually gained weight. Also, if you do gain a little weight, once you go back to your normal routine your body weight will also go back to normal. </p>
<p>Even if you do gain weight at Christmas, research suggests this weight can also be lost after the holidays and your <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0232152">lifestyle settles down</a>. </p>
<p>But if you do want to be mindful about what you eat during the holidays, as a dietitian I would suggest the following things. </p>
<ol>
<li><strong>Be mindful.</strong> Your enjoyment of the holidays doesn’t have to be based on how much you eat – it can be about being in the moment and enjoying the holidays and food more mindfully. But when you do indulge, try to be mindful of how much you’re putting on your plate – don’t just snack without thinking.</li>
<li><strong>Eat plenty of veggies</strong>, salads and fruit. Save the calorie-rich festive treats as the highlight – rather than the main event of meals.</li>
<li><strong>Try to get a bit of exercise.</strong> A Christmas or Boxing day walk with family and friends can help to offset some of the calories and may also help with digestion and bloating.</li>
</ol>
<p>If you still feel like you might have overindulged over Christmas, I would not recommend rushing into making New Year’s resolutions. Instead, I would encourage people to make small changes to their diet and physical activity levels, which are easy to stick to.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219784/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Duane Mellor is a member of the British Dietetic Association and member of the Scientific Committee of the British Nutrition Foundation.</span></em></p>Body weight is affected by many factors – so it’s possible that even if different people ate the exact same foods at Christmas, one may gain more weight.Duane Mellor, Lead for Evidence-Based Medicine and Nutrition, Aston Medical School, Aston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1958222022-12-16T11:08:18Z2022-12-16T11:08:18ZFestive bulge: scientists offer advice on how to beat overeating<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498760/original/file-20221203-17-v906i1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Christmas and New Year are holidays with dietary excesses that many of us cannot control. This often leads to the “festive bulge”. As the holidays approach, could there be a recipe to contain this weight gain and pave the way to sustainable nutrition-based health at the same time? </p>
<p>There’s a lot of focus on what we eat and how much we eat – but what about <em>when</em> we eat?</p>
<p>Chrononutrition is the science of how timing affects our responses to nutrients. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867415003025?via%3Dihub">Scientific insights</a> into when we eat suggest it may be worth exploring for better health.</p>
<p>While the idea of getting started on <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9370396/">chrononutrition over Christmas</a> can sound challenging, the guilty conscience that tends to follow feasting over the holidays may provide the needed motivation for the year ahead.</p>
<p>So for better health in the new year, why not try out time-restricted eating (TRE)? TRE is a type of <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-intermittent-fasting-actually-good-for-weight-loss-heres-what-the-evidence-says-183500">intermittent fasting</a>: a person eats all their meals and snacks within a particular time window, ranging from six to 12 hours each day. This implies 12 to 18 hours of fasting. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/is-body-weight-affected-by-when-you-eat-heres-what-science-knows-so-far-143303">More</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/delay-eating-breakfast-and-eat-dinner-early-if-you-want-to-lose-body-fat-new-study-101058">more research</a> suggests that this kind of timing may have a significant influence on our health via <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25404320/">interplays</a> between our <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25815987/">body clocks and nutrition</a>. </p>
<p>As researchers with a focus on circadian biology, we have <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9370396/">identified the festive season</a> as a suitable starting point for a lifestyle change to time-restricted eating. </p>
<h2>What is chrononutrition?</h2>
<p>The basic idea of chrononutrition is that the body’s response to the timing of meals can promote well-being and health via the circadian timing system. This timing system refers to the internal 24-hour mechanism that primes our bodies for the challenges and stimuli of the 24-hour day. This includes when nutrients are likely to be consumed, how they are used within the body at a given time and how the body responds to them at a given time. </p>
<p>A rodent experiment in the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jn/article-abstract/10/1/63/4725662">1930s</a> led to a focus on counting calories and calorie-restricted eating. This dietary restriction extended the lifespan of rats in this case. It was subsequently shown in a wide range of species. The promise is large: if you eat less, then weight loss, better health and a longer life may follow. </p>
<p>The rodent experiment was followed by research into diets that foster health and prevent disease. Interest in <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3794831/">“meal-timing, circadian rhythms and lifespan”</a> was sparked by Franz Halberg (known as the father of American chronobiology), among others, in the 1980s. </p>
<p>These studies around food and behaviour take <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25404320/">evolutionary considerations</a> into account. For instance, rodents gain fitness when fed in a time-restricted manner. In contrast, human behaviour tends to involve more <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26411343/">erratic eating patterns</a> during the hours when people are awake. </p>
<h2>Lifestyle changes</h2>
<p>So what practical advice can we give on the occasion of Christmas and New Year from the <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2017/advanced-information/">2017 Nobel Prize-winning field of chronobiology</a>? The field gained recognition for its discoveries into how internal clocks organise our physiology and enable us to live in harmony with the external rhythms of day and night. </p>
<p>Findings from this field point to a simple lifestyle change: limiting when you eat to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4255155/">eight to 10 hours</a> a day could protect you from developing obesity, or even lessen the negative health impacts of existing obesity. And time-restricted eating can work even if practised for only <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4255155/">five days per week</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/intermittent-fasting-if-youre-struggling-to-lose-weight-this-might-be-why-123498">Intermittent fasting: if you're struggling to lose weight, this might be why</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Importantly, if you can reduce a long habitual eating window (for instance, 15 hours) to a time-restricted eating window of eight hours, you are likely to benefit more than someone who reduces a habitual eating window of 10 hours to eight hours. Reductions in eating-time windows have already <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2114833?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed">been found</a> to help some overweight humans lose weight, sleep better and feel more energised.</p>
<p>Granted, much of the evidence comes from animal studies – and humans are certainly not big mice. Nonetheless, there have been no reports of detriments to this practice in humans. However, there has been <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0899900722001897?via%3Dihub">one report</a> of possible disadvantages to offspring in a pregnant animal model of time-restricted eating. </p>
<h2>Late breakfast and early supper</h2>
<p>Why not try what some studies suggest and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9370396/">start time-restricted eating over Christmas</a>, or put it on your New Year’s resolution list? </p>
<p>To get started, consider having a late breakfast and an early dinner. Of course, if in doubt about the impact of time-restricted eating – or if you have medical or dietary restrictions, or are pregnant – talk to your doctors first for advice.</p>
<p>Beyond paying attention to calorie intake and food composition, “when we eat” is a relatively simple and potentially sustainable approach.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195822/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The festive season provides great motivation to make lifestyle changes around eating habits.Thomas C. Erren, Professor, University of ColognePhilip Lewis, Research associate, University of CologneUrsula Wild, Research Associate, University of CologneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1962952022-12-15T19:07:37Z2022-12-15T19:07:37ZYour tendency to overindulge these holidays could relate to your ‘eating personality’. Which type are you?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500896/original/file-20221214-17-kq7mqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=55%2C33%2C7293%2C4241&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/santa-claus-having-delicious-snack-600w-2063217185.jpg">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Holidays are a time when lots of us tend to overindulge in food and drink, and many people <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejm200003233421206">gain weight</a>. Once gained, weight is difficult to lose, and it is likely that much of the holiday weight gain will <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMc1602012">stay with us</a>.</p>
<p>Overindulgence might happen for some people around relaxed and positive family gatherings, especially if COVID has limited travel and family occasions in recent years. For others, holiday gatherings hold the potential for conflict and emotional challenges and that can lead to having more to eat and drink. For some people it will be a sad and lonely period, without family or significant others around, and food might seem comforting. </p>
<p>Holiday gatherings are typically social, featuring foods that are delicious, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5687574/">energy-dense</a> and plentiful. It can be challenging to resist the temptations on offer. Yet some people overindulge, but others do not. Why? </p>
<p>Research tells us how different “eating personalities” influence our tendency to overdo it at the festive buffet. </p>
<h2>Eating personalities</h2>
<p>The various combinations of our eating behaviours (our usual ways of behaving and thinking about food) interact with each other as “eating personalities”. </p>
<p>Technically, eating personalities (or <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28043857/">eating phenotypes</a>) refer to habitual patterns of eating behaviours and thoughts that are the result of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5994376/">interactions</a> between our genetic makeup, individual characteristics and the environment. </p>
<p>Eating personalities affect how we eat (such as how fast), what we eat (healthy or unhealthy foods), how much we eat in different situations, and importantly, why we overeat. Eating personalities are apparent <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8740295/">even in infants</a> and continue to evolve and change over our lifetime. They also inform how we select specific <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4267530">weight-loss strategies</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500895/original/file-20221214-22-srnvx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="cutting turkey at the table" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500895/original/file-20221214-22-srnvx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500895/original/file-20221214-22-srnvx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500895/original/file-20221214-22-srnvx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500895/original/file-20221214-22-srnvx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500895/original/file-20221214-22-srnvx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500895/original/file-20221214-22-srnvx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500895/original/file-20221214-22-srnvx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">For some it’s the pudding, for others it’s the turkey that’s hard to turn down.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.pexels.com/photos/5848011/pexels-photo-5848011.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&w=1260&h=750&dpr=2">Pexels</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our eating personalities could include: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>how we respond to prompts for overeating, such as the presence of tempting foods or drinks at a buffet lunch, and whether we sometimes lose control </p></li>
<li><p>how desirable or appealing or rewarding we find different foods or drinks. It might be a glossy chocolate cake for one person but crispy roast potatoes for another</p></li>
<li><p>whether we notice and respond to internal signals of fullness</p></li>
<li><p>our tendency to serve large portions and eat until the plate is clean</p></li>
<li><p>whether we are able to wait until we start feeling hungry again to begin eating, rather than being guided by the clock or a tempting snack</p></li>
<li><p>our capacity to stick to longer-term goals in the presence of tempting foods or drinks</p></li>
<li><p>how fast we eat and whether we tend to maintain this pace or slow down during the course of eating</p></li>
<li><p>whether we are “<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6137864/">emotional eaters</a>” who eat when we feel down or to celebrate success.</p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/mukbang-eatwithme-and-eating-disorders-on-tiktok-why-online-food-consumption-videos-could-fuel-food-fixations-194809">Mukbang, #EatWithMe and eating disorders on TikTok: why online food consumption videos could fuel food fixations</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>5 ideas for eating according to your personality</h2>
<p>Research <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2792381">published</a> this year, based on a randomised clinical trial with 217 adults, indicates that knowing your eating personality can help identify strategies to manage food intakes and weight. A second recent <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4267530">study of 165</a> people supports these findings. </p>
<p>Matching strategies to your particular eating personality traits could help you manage or avoid overindulgence. </p>
<p><strong>1. The overeater</strong></p>
<p>If eating when you’re not actually hungry is a component of your eating personality, improving awareness of hunger versus other triggers for eating <a href="https://uhs.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/wellness-hungersatietyscale.pdf">when you feel full</a>, and developing skills in responding to these cues before deciding to eat, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031938420303322">could help</a>. </p>
<p><strong>2. The food admirer and impulsive eater</strong></p>
<p>If high attraction to food is a factor, and you have difficulty resisting, acknowledging the attractiveness of food cues and practising using avoidance, distraction or resistance strategies <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031938420303322#bib0175">may be effective</a>.</p>
<p><strong>3. The emotional eater</strong></p>
<p>People who recognise they eat for emotional reasons might try <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/weight-loss/art-20047342">other strategies</a> such as mindfulness, walking or listening to music to work through their feelings. </p>
<p><strong>4. The plate cleaner</strong></p>
<p>If resisting food is hard once it’s on your plate, choosing <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6088523/#:%7E:text=Offering%20large%20portions%20of%20high,and%20ultimately%20positive%20energy%20balance.">smaller portions</a> could help, along with developing awareness of fullness cues, or selecting some food but saving some for later in a separate location. Some young children do this naturally, spreading holiday chocolates or treats over days or weeks. </p>
<p><strong>5. The speed eater</strong></p>
<p>If eating quickly means you tend to eat too much, pay greater attention to your <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24388483/">eating speed</a> during the meal and attempt to slow down by interspersing eating with other things like chatting or drinking water.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500889/original/file-20221214-14-lmxifa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="gingerbread men falling out of a bowl" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500889/original/file-20221214-14-lmxifa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500889/original/file-20221214-14-lmxifa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500889/original/file-20221214-14-lmxifa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500889/original/file-20221214-14-lmxifa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500889/original/file-20221214-14-lmxifa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500889/original/file-20221214-14-lmxifa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500889/original/file-20221214-14-lmxifa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Eating patterns and responses are highly individualised.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1575993051801-d5a7940d78a2?ixlib=rb-4.0.3&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8&auto=format&fit=crop&w=872&q=80">Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-i-work-with-people-with-eating-disorders-i-see-many-rules-around-good-and-bad-foods-but-eating-is-never-that-simple-188803">When I work with people with eating disorders, I see many rules around 'good' and 'bad' foods – but eating is never that simple</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Acknowledging the challenges</h2>
<p>It is a common experience to have tried, and sometimes failed, to temper food intakes during holiday periods and celebrations. </p>
<p>Food is a central part of holiday celebrations – it provides social and cultural connection, and is a source of enjoyment. However, if avoiding overindulgence is a priority for your <a href="https://theconversation.com/im-not-overweight-so-why-do-i-need-to-eat-healthy-foods-90436">health and wellbeing</a>, it is worth exploring your eating personality. This is a path to a better understanding of overindulgence, and possibly to strategies for moderating what you eat and how much, during the holiday period and beyond. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/step-away-from-the-table-why-you-keep-eating-when-youre-full-170649">Step away from the table – why you keep eating when you're full</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196295/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Georgie Russell is affiliated with the Nutrition Society of Australia and the Australian and New Zealand Obesity Society. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alan Russell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Do you feel the need to clean your plate? Does a bowl of salty chips seem completely irresistible? Understanding your ‘eating personality’ could stop you eating or drinking too much these holidays.Georgie Russell, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), Deakin UniversityAlan Russell, Emeritus Professor of Education, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1706492021-12-23T20:51:46Z2021-12-23T20:51:46ZStep away from the table – why you keep eating when you’re full<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435511/original/file-20211203-25-yoz1lz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C35%2C6000%2C4203&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ever eaten that last slice of pizza, even though you’ve had enough? Or polished off kids’ leftovers, despite already feeling full?</p>
<p>To understand what’s happening – and how to fix it – let’s explore your body’s “stop eating signals” (satiety signals).</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-the-science-of-hangry-or-why-some-people-get-grumpy-when-theyre-hungry-37229">Health Check: the science of 'hangry', or why some people get grumpy when they're hungry</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435504/original/file-20211203-23-l0pfnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman covers her mouth while eating and looking full." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435504/original/file-20211203-23-l0pfnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435504/original/file-20211203-23-l0pfnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435504/original/file-20211203-23-l0pfnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435504/original/file-20211203-23-l0pfnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435504/original/file-20211203-23-l0pfnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435504/original/file-20211203-23-l0pfnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435504/original/file-20211203-23-l0pfnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s helpful to understand how your body tells you it’s time to stop eating.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The science of satiety signals</h2>
<p>Your body’s satiety signals kick in when your brain senses you’ve consumed enough of the nutrients you need.</p>
<p>Your brain takes its cue from sources such as:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2019/11/415916/we-know-were-full-because-intestines-stretch-sensors-tell-us-so">stretch signals</a> from your gastrointestinal tract (like your stomach and intestines), which indicate the volume of foods and drinks you’ve consumed</p></li>
<li><p>“satiety hormones”, such as <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fendo.2021.684656/full">cholecystokinin (CCK)</a> and <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fendo.2018.00442/full">peptide YY</a>, which are released into your bloodstream when particular nutrients from your digested food come into contact with certain parts of your gastrointestinal tract</p></li>
<li><p>nutrients from your digested food, which pass into your blood stream and can exert satiety effects directly <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5120084/?report=classic">on your brain</a></p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fendo.2021.585887/full">leptin</a>, the hormone primarily produced by adipose tissue, which stores excess nutrients from your food as fat. The more fat you have in your adipose tissue, the more leptin your adipose tissue releases into your blood stream, and the more your brain senses you’ve consumed enough of the necessary nutrients.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Your brain puts all those sources of information into a “satiety algorithm” and, at a certain point, sends you the signal that it’s time to stop eating.</p>
<p>This helps explain why, if you aren’t getting enough of the nutrients you need overall, you might feel unsatisfied and keep eating even when you’re full.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435510/original/file-20211203-21-78j6d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People click wine glasses at a feast" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435510/original/file-20211203-21-78j6d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435510/original/file-20211203-21-78j6d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435510/original/file-20211203-21-78j6d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435510/original/file-20211203-21-78j6d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435510/original/file-20211203-21-78j6d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435510/original/file-20211203-21-78j6d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435510/original/file-20211203-21-78j6d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Add an alcoholic drink or two to the mix, and it may get even easier to ignore satiety signals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>I’m eating nutritious foods so why can’t I stop?</h2>
<p>Your body’s satiety signals are easy to ignore – especially when you’re tempted with <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031938412002363?via%3Dihub">varied and tasty foods</a> and you feel <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31216640/">social expectations to eat</a>. Add an alcoholic drink or two, and it may <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6981020/">get even easier</a> to ignore satiety signals.</p>
<p>Other factors may include your ethics about not wasting food, and habits such as routinely eating dessert after dinner – regardless of how you feel.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/concerned-about-overeating-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-food-addiction-169352">Concerned about overeating? Here's what you need to know about food addiction</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Eating is about emotions, too</h2>
<p>If you’ve ever overeaten while feeling bored, fearful, stressed, lonely, tired or guilty, you’ve discovered that food can improve your mood (at least temporarily). Indeed, some of the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41419-018-1129-1">hormones</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7056580/">natural brain chemicals</a> involved in satiety signalling have been shown to affect mood.</p>
<p>If you regularly keep eating when you’re full, it’s worth exploring possible underlying psychological contributors.</p>
<p>Depression, anxiety and stress (check <a href="https://www.thecalculator.co/health/DASS-21-Depression-Anxiety-Stress-Scale-Test-938.html">this test</a> to see if you’re experiencing the symptoms) have been linked to overeating. </p>
<p>So has post-traumatic stress disorder – and no, you don’t have to be a war veteran to have PTSD. <a href="https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/assessment/documents/PCL5_Standard_form_week.PDF">This survey</a> has a checklist of symptoms.</p>
<p>Eating disorders such as binge eating disorder or bulimia nervosa are also linked to overeating (check this <a href="https://insideoutinstitute.org.au/assessment/?started=true">survey</a> of symptoms to see if any apply to you). </p>
<p>Having had <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S003193842030278X?via%3Dihub">adverse experiences in childhood</a> can also play a role in habitual overeating. Try this <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/03/02/387007941/take-the-ace-quiz-and-learn-what-it-does-and-doesnt-mean">quiz</a> if you suspect this may apply to you.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428463/original/file-20211026-23-14wbegz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428463/original/file-20211026-23-14wbegz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428463/original/file-20211026-23-14wbegz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428463/original/file-20211026-23-14wbegz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428463/original/file-20211026-23-14wbegz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428463/original/file-20211026-23-14wbegz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428463/original/file-20211026-23-14wbegz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428463/original/file-20211026-23-14wbegz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ever eaten beyond the point of ‘satisfied’ just to ‘finish it off’?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How to stop eating when you’re full</h2>
<p>If you suspect psychological contributors to overeating, know there are scientifically proven treatments that can help. </p>
<p>For example, depression and anxiety now have well established <a href="https://www.ranzcp.org/files/resources/college_statements/clinician/cpg/mood-disorders-cpg-2020.aspx">treatment pathways</a>. PTSD can be treated with proven <a href="https://www.phoenixaustralia.org/australian-guidelines-for-ptsd/">therapies</a>. Eating disorders can be treated effectively with <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/obr.13180">cognitive behavioural therapy for eating disorders</a>, among other treatments. Your local healthcare professional can help you find treatment options, and some are free.</p>
<p>Other strategies you may like to consider are listed below:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>keep a diary of your satiety signals so you learn to recognise them. Every time you eat, note whether you feel unsatisfied, satisfied or over-satisfied. Aim for “satisfied” every time. If you have an iPhone, you can use the free app I co-designed with Zubeyir Salis (a contributor to this article), based on scientific evidence (<a href="https://apps.apple.com/sa/app/wink-by-amanda-salis/id1495613647">Wink by Amanda Salis</a>)</p></li>
<li><p>when you recognise yourself eating to the point of feeling “over-satisfied”, note what’s happening in your satiety diary (or app). Feeling unworthy? Jealous? Irritated? Tired? Or are you procrastinating about something? Think about what you <em>really</em> need; give yourself more of that instead of food</p></li>
<li><p>choose a nutrient rich diet with a minimum of <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/ca5644en/ca5644en.pdf">ultra processed foods</a>, and heed cravings for particular healthy foods. This will help deliver the nutrients you need so your satiety signals are activated. Use <a href="https://healthyeatingquiz.com.au">this free, evidence-based quiz</a> to see if you’re on track for a nutrient rich diet</p></li>
<li><p>be the boss of how much food is served to you, so that only the amount you feel you can eat appears on your plate</p></li>
<li><p>unless you need to eat, put obstacles between yourself and food. Leftovers can be frozen or stored (<a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-when-should-you-throw-away-leftovers-92256">safely</a>). Move away from the table once your satiety signals have told you it’s time to stop.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>May you always be “satisfied”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-how-to-work-out-how-much-food-you-should-eat-30894">Health Check: how to work out how much food you should eat</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Zubeyir Salis contributed to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170649/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amanda Salis owns 50% of the shares in Zuman International, which receives royalties for books she has written about adult weight management, and income from education about adult weight management and research methodology. She also receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia.</span></em></p>Ever eaten that last slice of pizza, even though you’ve had enough? Or polished off kids’ leftovers, despite already feeling full? Here’s what’s happening and how to fix it.Amanda Salis, NHMRC Senior Research Fellow in the School of Human Sciences, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1719332021-12-10T01:53:57Z2021-12-10T01:53:57ZCOVID kilos: why now is the best time to shed them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435993/original/file-20211207-136652-1r1hh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/female-bare-feet-weight-scale-bathroom-785794792">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If your clothes are feeling snug after lockdown, you’re not alone. A survey of more than 22,000 people across 30 countries found almost <a href="https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/one-in-three-australians-have-gained-weight-during">one-third of respondents</a> gained weight during the COVID pandemic.</p>
<p>Major contributors include stress, takeaway and working from home. Sound familiar?</p>
<p>As you gain more freedom of movement post-lockdown, some of this extra weight may come off naturally. However, your body might need a nudge to return to its pre-lockdown weight, and it’s probably better to act now than wait until New Year’s resolutions time. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/you-dont-have-to-be-the-biggest-loser-to-achieve-weight-loss-success-11587">You don't have to be the biggest loser to achieve weight loss success</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Harness your inner ‘fat brake’</h2>
<p>Humans tend to maintain a steady weight over time, give or take a few kilos. </p>
<p>One scientific theory on how the body does this is the “set point” theory. It posits that whenever we deviate from our weight set point, our body activates defence mechanisms that tend to shift us back to base. </p>
<p>When your weight goes up, your body may react by:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>reducing hunger and the amount of food needed to feel satisfied, possibly brought on by <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/9/2635">changing appetite hormones</a> </p></li>
<li><p>increasing your propensity to be <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/obr.13040">physically active</a>, which can involve conscious activity like walking, or even subconscious activity like fidgeting</p></li>
<li><p>raising your metabolic rate, a change that <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/114/4/1396/6315829">some people</a> exhibit more than others (you may notice feeling hot-under-the-collar if this happens to you).</p></li>
</ul>
<p>This array of physiological responses, which we call the “<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-now-is-the-best-time-to-go-on-a-diet-or-the-science-of-post-holiday-weight-loss-52075">fat brake</a>” because it slows fat gain, has been documented in experiments where adults were overfed for periods spanning several hours to several weeks. This time frame is similar to the time frame of feasting over a holiday season.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A slice of pizza in an open box." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436010/original/file-20211207-141979-1q8gwvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436010/original/file-20211207-141979-1q8gwvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436010/original/file-20211207-141979-1q8gwvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436010/original/file-20211207-141979-1q8gwvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436010/original/file-20211207-141979-1q8gwvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436010/original/file-20211207-141979-1q8gwvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436010/original/file-20211207-141979-1q8gwvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">More takaways than usual contributed to lockdown weight gain.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/piece-pizza-box-650412841">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Practically speaking, this means in the aftermath of a brief period of overeating, you may find yourself having less interest in food and wanting to move more than usual.</p>
<p>In other words, a window of opportunity exists where your body is likely to work alongside you in shedding weight.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-now-is-the-best-time-to-go-on-a-diet-or-the-science-of-post-holiday-weight-loss-52075">Why now is the best time to go on a diet, or the science of post-holiday weight loss</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What happens if we overeat for months?</h2>
<p>The latest Sydney lockdown lasted almost four months (107 days). Melbourne’s lockdown was more fragmented, but no shorter in duration.</p>
<p>It’s not entirely clear how our bodies react to this length of potential overeating. This is because most human overfeeding experiments don’t last beyond two months.</p>
<p>One of the longest is a <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article-abstract/56/5/857/4715531?redirectedFrom=fulltext">classic study</a> where “lean young men” were fed an excess of 4,200 kilojoules (1,000 calories) per day for 100 days. At the end, their metabolic rate was found to be higher than before the overfeeding began.</p>
<p>Importantly, in the four months post-experiment, they lost 82% of the weight and 74% of the fat they had gained. </p>
<p>These results are encouraging because they suggest the “fat brake” can remain active even after several months of overeating.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Young man walks in front of a purple house." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436007/original/file-20211207-25-ipr1i1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436007/original/file-20211207-25-ipr1i1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436007/original/file-20211207-25-ipr1i1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436007/original/file-20211207-25-ipr1i1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436007/original/file-20211207-25-ipr1i1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436007/original/file-20211207-25-ipr1i1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436007/original/file-20211207-25-ipr1i1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A study of lean young men found they lost most of the weight they’d gained.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-man-walking-casual-happy-on-761397553">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>All things, however, tend to come to an end. In <a href="https://jeatdisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/2050-2974-2-8">animal studies</a>, the effects of the fat brake have been shown to subside with time. </p>
<p>We can’t predict if or when this might happen in humans, but we do know <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1467-789X.2004.00118.x">genes</a> play a major role in determining how our bodies respond to overeating. </p>
<p>We also know that loss of excess weight tends to be more permanent in children and young people, which could be related to a more <a href="https://www.endocrine-abstracts.org/ea/0039/ea0039OC9.2">flexible weight set point</a>.</p>
<p>So, the aforementioned study in “lean young men” likely presents the best-case scenario in terms of recovering from prolonged overeating. </p>
<p>For those of us who don’t have genes or age on our side, being proactive about post-lockdown weight loss and seizing the window of opportunity our fat brakes offer could provide a path of least resistance, at least from a physiological view point. </p>
<h2>How to go about losing COVID kilos</h2>
<p>It’s important to listen to your body’s signals. Eat only when you’re hungry and stop as soon as you’re satisfied. </p>
<p>When you are hungry, aim for smaller portions and lighter foods. One way to do this at mealtimes is to prioritise and “fill up” on vegetables before eating any other food on your plate. You may be surprised by how little it takes to feel satisfied, especially if your fat brake is activated. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-how-to-work-out-how-much-food-you-should-eat-30894">Health Check: how to work out how much food you should eat</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>If you have an iPhone, a free app (<a href="https://apps.apple.com/sa/app/wink-by-amanda-salis/id1495613647">Wink by Amanda Salis</a>) can help you learn to eat according to your body signals.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/guidelines">Australian Dietary Guidelines</a> provide evidence-based information on what foods to eat and how much to eat. For more personalised information, <a href="https://healthyeatingquiz.com.au/">this free quiz</a> offers a quick assessment of your diet and tailored ideas on things you could improve on.</p>
<p>To avoid eating when you’re not hungry, it’s helpful to do things that are active and exciting. Think team sports, dancing, or other activities you couldn’t do during lockdown. </p>
<p>It’s also a good idea to remove snacks and temptations around the house to minimise “mindless” grazing.</p>
<p>If you’re carrying more weight than a few excess COVID kilos, consider professional help. Young people who have support from a dietitian tend to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13679-016-0190-2">lose more weight</a> than older adults who seek the same help. </p>
<p>For adults with related medical issues that would improve with weight loss, there are more intensive treatments that are effective for a majority of people, such as <a href="https://www.cell.com/heliyon/fulltext/S2405-8440(20)30851-3?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2405844020308513%3Fshowall%3Dtrue">severely energy restricted liquid meal replacement diets</a> but this must be done under medical supervision. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/concerned-about-overeating-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-food-addiction-169352">Concerned about overeating? Here's what you need to know about food addiction</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171933/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hoi Lun Cheng is affiliated with the the Wellbeing, Health & Youth (WH&Y) NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence. She receives competitive grant funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amanda Salis owns 50% of the shares in Zuman International, which receives royalties for books she has written about adult weight management, and income from education about adult weight management and research methodology. She also receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia.</span></em></p>Your body might need a nudge to return to its pre-lockdown weight. And it’s probably better to act now than wait.Hoi Lun Cheng, Marie Bashir Clinical Research Fellow in Adolescent Health, University of SydneyAmanda Salis, NHMRC Senior Research Fellow in the School of Human Sciences, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1548932021-02-19T15:59:37Z2021-02-19T15:59:37ZPreparing your own food or watching it being made could lead to overeating – new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385259/original/file-20210219-17-fphqy1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=44%2C7%2C4928%2C3268&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Preparing your own food may lead you to eat more.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-african-woman-cooking-healthy-food-250744141">Milles Studio/ Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The media is awash with cooking programmes. From chatty breakfast TV slots to extended cookery competitions to the more extreme “<a href="https://www.today.com/food/what-mukbang-inside-viral-korean-food-phenomenon-t123251">mukbang</a>” social media extravaganza, watching other people prepare food from the comfort of our sofa has become the norm over the past few decades. But this kind of entertainment could have an impact on our own eating habits. Our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195666320316949">recent study</a> showed that both watching food being prepared by others and preparing it yourself led to eating more.</p>
<p>Our study explored the impact of passive food preparation (watching someone else) and active food preparation (doing it yourself) on eating behaviour. The eighty female participants were randomly given one of three activities, each lasting ten minutes. They they either watched a video of a researcher making a cheese wrap, made one themselves using step-by-step instructions, or completed a colouring task before being given food. A fourth, control group were given a wrap to eat immediately without waiting ten minutes.</p>
<p>We measured participants’ desire to eat (hunger, fullness, motivation to eat) using brief questionnaires before and after the activities. We then asked them to eat either the wrap they had made or a similar one. </p>
<p>We found that the participants who watched the video ate 14% more wrap, and those who had made their own wrap ate 11%, than those who’d done the colouring task. Those in the control group who ate immediately also ate more than the colouring group. </p>
<p>We also found that participants who had either prepared their own wrap or watched someone else reported increased motivation to eat. Participants who had made their own wrap also reported greater hunger. The group who had been distracted from thinking about food by the colouring task showed no changes in their desire to eat.</p>
<p>Our findings agree with previous research, which has also shown that food images, TV adverts of foods, and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S019566631630558X">cookery programmes</a> can all lead to eating more. Some research has also shown that preparing food encourages both <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195666314001573">children and adults</a> to eat more of what they’ve prepared.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man watches a cooking video on his tablet." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385260/original/file-20210219-19-1vr8qtt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385260/original/file-20210219-19-1vr8qtt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385260/original/file-20210219-19-1vr8qtt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385260/original/file-20210219-19-1vr8qtt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385260/original/file-20210219-19-1vr8qtt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385260/original/file-20210219-19-1vr8qtt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385260/original/file-20210219-19-1vr8qtt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Watching food being prepared may also lead to overeating.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/man-hand-holding-using-digital-tablet-1741740341">olgsera/ Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But to date these studies haven’t compared these active and passive food preparation directly. Nor have they taken place in a laboratory setting, nor have they had all participants consume the same foods – which can all have an impact on how accurate the results are. Our study shows that watching others prepare food and preparing food yourself could lead to eating more. </p>
<h2>Food prep</h2>
<p>So how might food preparation change what we eat? Quite simply, seeing food increases how much we think about it – and therefore how much we want it and eat of it. For example, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195666311001371">one study found</a> that participants who read an article about food while eating – as opposed to simply focusing on their food and eating mindfully without distraction – ended up snacking more later in the afternoon. This suggests that when we see food or think about it, we tend to eat more of it.</p>
<p>But watching others prepare food typically only uses our sense of sight. Preparing food ourselves may have additional effects because it’s multi-sensory. The smells, sounds and tastes of active food preparation tell our body that food is coming. This generates an anticipatory response in both our mind and body, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924224414002386">getting us ready to eat</a>.</p>
<p>Food preparation can also increase our <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/predictors-of-changes-in-adolescents-consumption-of-fruits-vegetables-and-energydense-snacks/EEB6AC1D38CDE9ED7BF8D083C70FD600">sense of confidence and skill</a> around food, making new foods less alien and more attractive – in turn making us more likely to try something different. This could lead to overeating or could make us more adventurous with healthier, novel foods.</p>
<p>Preparing food requires us to invest time and effort. This <a href="https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jobe/2014/810374/">investment and a sense of having earned</a> something makes whatever that thing is more pleasurable. This is also why watching others prepare food and preparing it ourselves can lead to eating more. But is this good or bad thing?</p>
<p>We hear a lot about the <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight">role of overeating</a> in many health conditions, such as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195666308005254">obesity</a>, diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer. Watching unhealthy foods being prepared, or preparing unhealthy foods yourself could encourage eating more of them, which may exacerbate weight problems or other health conditions.</p>
<p>But that doesn’t have to mean that we shouldn’t keep cooking our own foods, or give up watching cooking shows. Instead, changing the kinds of foods we prepare or watch being prepared to healthier ones could potentially have a positive impact on our food intake and subsequent health by encouraging us to eat more of the kinds of foods that we perhaps used to avoid.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154893/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jane Ogden does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Our study found that people who prepared their own food or watched their food being made ate more on average.Jane Ogden, Professor of Health Psychology, University of SurreyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1491262020-11-09T11:18:17Z2020-11-09T11:18:17ZFood variety is important for our health – but the definition of a ‘balanced diet’ is often murky<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368263/original/file-20201109-22-lqiq5c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C0%2C6699%2C4476&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many dietary guidelines fail to define what "variety" means.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/buddha-bowl-spinach-salad-quinoa-roasted-1055353403">Ekaterina Kondratova/ Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s well known that a healthy diet can help <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malnutritio">reduce disease risks</a> that are related to overweight or obesity – such as some cancers, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. As part of a healthy diet, experts around the world advise people to consume a variety of foods. In the UK for example, the <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/the-eatwell-guide/">NHS’s Eatwell Guide</a> divides foods into food groups (starchy carbohydrates, fruit and veg, dairy or dairy alternatives, proteins, and fats). To get a “balanced diet”, the guide advises people to aim to eat a certain amount of food from each food group.</p>
<p>One reason food variety is included in recommendations is because different foods have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/134.7.1779">different nutrients</a>. Eating a varied diet can benefit our health by reducing risks associated with malnutrition, which happens when we don’t get the <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Malnutrition/">right amount of nutrients</a> from our diet. <a href="https://www.nursingtimes.net/archive/malnutrition-20-05-2009/">Malnutrition</a> can cause weak muscles, decrease mobility, increase illness, and lead to breathing problems, among other symptoms.</p>
<p>But what’s defined as “variety” by dietary guidelines can often be confusing and too simplistic – and vastly different from what the general public may define as variety. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-018-0298-7">Research</a> has shown that in addition to having variety as part of the whole diet, we can measure variety within meals (for example, having multiple courses, or foods from different food groups on our plate) as well as across meals (such as having different foods for lunch each day).</p>
<p>Importantly, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-018-0298-7">research has also found</a> that variety can refer to foods that differ in their characteristics (such as their appearance, flavour, texture or smell), as well as the nutrients found in them. By this definition, eating a chocolate cake and strawberry cake would be a form of variety, as they differ in flavour, despite having a very similar nutritional profile and belonging to the same food group. It also means that single foods and dishes with mixed ingredients (such as pizzas or sandwiches) can have variety.</p>
<p>At the moment, UK dietary guidelines rely on people using their own discretion to achieve an overall balance of different foods in their diet. But is it easy for consumers to identify variety?</p>
<p>In our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09548-x">recent study</a>, we wanted to find out if people living in the UK recognise food variety – and how they define it. To do this we asked participants to comment on a range of photographs that showed different types of food as part of an online survey. For example, they were shown supermarket aisles displaying different food brands, meals that consisted of multiple foods from different food groups, and mixed dishes and foods that contained different flavours, colours, and textures – such as salads with a mix of vegetables, or pizzas with different toppings. </p>
<p>Though participants often identified and discussed different types of variety, they tended to only define variety as eating foods from different food groups as part of the whole diet, a definition that is consistent with the use of variety in dietary guidelines. These results suggest that, when trying to follow dietary guidance and eat a healthy diet, people may place less importance on variety within meals. For example, if we just need to achieve an overall balance, then they may believe it doesn’t matter if we have less or more variety within a meal as long as we make up the difference in the next meal. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A plate showing the different food groups." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368265/original/file-20201109-19-nn7bag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368265/original/file-20201109-19-nn7bag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368265/original/file-20201109-19-nn7bag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368265/original/file-20201109-19-nn7bag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368265/original/file-20201109-19-nn7bag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368265/original/file-20201109-19-nn7bag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368265/original/file-20201109-19-nn7bag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People may place less focus on getting variety as part of their whole diet.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/food-pyramid-pie-chart-on-plate-54369673">ifong/ Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Thinking about variety within meals is important, because research shows that people <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-018-0298-7">eat more</a> when meals and foods differ in appearance, taste and texture within the same dish. Each new food characteristic that we experience keeps us interested in a meal for longer, subsequently delaying the feeling of fullness that would normally prompt us to stop eating. </p>
<p>In other words, variety in these characteristics disrupts the process known as “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTtfqECMEb8">sensory specific satiety</a>”. This effect can increase the risk of overeating. For this reason, eating a variety of foods from within food groups (with the exception of fruits and vegetables) has been related to having a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/69.3.440">higher body weight</a>. This type of variety could then potentially increase disease risks linked to overweight or obesity.</p>
<h2>Variety and health</h2>
<p>As variety encourages us to eat more, variety within meals may be most helpful when eating fruits and vegetables. This is not only because they are less caloric than other food groups, but more nutritious (they contain important vitamins and minerals) – so eating a greater variety of fruits and vegetables can benefit our health. But it can be less helpful when eating high-calorie foods, when the risk of overeating is higher. </p>
<p>For example, we could make sure that we have two or more servings of different vegetables on our plate at dinnertime to increase the amount of vegetables we eat. When eating high-calorie foods, we could choose options that in and of themselves have less variety, such as plain chocolate instead of those with flavoured fillings. </p>
<p>For dietary guidelines to be useful, they need to be more specific about what variety means, and how we can monitor variety in our diet. While eating food from different food groups helps us achieve a diet rich in different nutrients, we should also be mindful of the effects of variety on how much food we eat during meals. To get the right balance, variety should be encouraged within some food groups such as fruits and vegetables – but not others.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/149126/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rochelle Embling receives funding from the ESRC Wales Doctoral Training Partnership.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aimee Pink, Laura Wilkinson, and Menna Price do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If dietary guidelines are going to work, they need to be more specific about what ‘variety’ means.Rochelle Embling, PhD Researcher in Psychology, Swansea UniversityAimee Pink, Research fellow, Swansea UniversityLaura Wilkinson, Lecturer in Psychology, Swansea UniversityMenna Price, Lecturer in Psychology, Swansea UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1450172020-09-08T12:17:22Z2020-09-08T12:17:22ZA doctor’s open apology to those fighting overweight and obesity<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356603/original/file-20200904-24-3gd05a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C3%2C791%2C480&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Doctors have told people who are overweight to exercise more and eat less, when in fact their overweight may be due to genetic or other factors that exercise won't change. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.uconnruddcenter.org/image-library?#">UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Obesity has emerged as a significant risk factor <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/obesity-increases-risk-covid-19-230500610.html">for poor outcomes</a> in patients infected with COVID-19. Based on how doctors and others in health care have previously treated patients with obesity or overweight conditions, my guess is that many will respond by declaring: “Well, it’s their own fault for being overweight!” </p>
<p>In the spirit of recognizing that people who struggle with weight loss include our family and friends, let me propose a different sentiment. </p>
<p>To those who we have shamed for having excess body weight and/or failing diets: “You were right, and we are sorry. After giving you undoable tasks, we ridiculed you. When you tried to tell us, we labeled you as weak and crazy. Because we didn’t understand what you were experiencing, we looked down on you. We had never felt it ourselves. We did not know. And for that, we apologize.” </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman and a nutritionist." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356607/original/file-20200904-14-87q46a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356607/original/file-20200904-14-87q46a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356607/original/file-20200904-14-87q46a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356607/original/file-20200904-14-87q46a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356607/original/file-20200904-14-87q46a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356607/original/file-20200904-14-87q46a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356607/original/file-20200904-14-87q46a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A nutritionist talks with a patient at an obesity clinic in Mulhouse, France.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/reportage-in-the-obesity-clinic-in-mulhouse-france-news-photo/481681619?adppopup=true">BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>‘Fat shaming’ doesn’t work</h2>
<p>This is just one version of the apology we owe our fellow human beings whom we told to lose weight using diet and exercise. Then, when it didn’t work, we blamed them for our treatment plan failures and smothered their feedback with prejudice and persecution. </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/j-david-prologo-md-fsir-abom-d-40071861/">physician and researcher</a>, I have worked in this space for many years. I have witnessed firsthand the life-altering power of preexisting ideas, judgments and stereotypes. I have seen how unfounded, negative ideas are woven through virtually every interaction that those struggling with weight loss endure when seeking help. </p>
<p>And there are tens of millions of them. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classifies more than 70% of U.S. adults <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html">as overweight</a>, and more than 40% as obese. Those numbers continue to climb, and even when some manage to lose weight, <a href="https://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2018/05/calorie-deprivation">they almost always gain it back</a> over time. </p>
<h2>Rash judgments</h2>
<p>To illustrate, imagine that I am your doctor. You have a body rash (which represents the condition of being overweight or obese), and you make an appointment with me to discuss a treatment plan. </p>
<p>During your visit, my office staff uses stigmatizing language and nonverbal signals that make it clear we are annoyed at the idea of dealing with another rash person. We invoke a set of assumptions that dictate the tone of our relationship, including the notions that you are lazy or ignorant or both. You will sense my disgust, which will make you uncomfortable. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, health care providers commonly treat patients who struggle with weight loss by assigning stereotypes, snap judgments and ingrained negative attributes – including <a href="https://4617c1smqldcqsat27z78x17-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/Weight-Bias-in-Healthcare.pdf">laziness, noncompliance, weakness and dishonesty.</a> </p>
<p>After this uncomfortable exchange, I will prescribe a treatment program for your rash and explain that it’s quite straightforward and easy to use. I will point you to several resources with pictures of smiling people with beautiful skin who never had a rash to emphasize how wonderful your outcome will be. “It’s just a matter of sticking to it,” I will say.</p>
<p>Back at home, you are excited to start treatment. However, you quickly realize that putting on the cream is unbearable. It burns; your arms and legs feel like they’re on fire shortly after you apply the treatment. You shower and wash off the cream. </p>
<h2>A dismal conversation</h2>
<p>After a few days, you try again. Same result. Your body will not accept the cream without intolerable burning and itching. You return to my office, and we have the following conversation:</p>
<p><strong>You</strong>: Doctor, I cannot stick to this plan. My body cannot tolerate the cream. </p>
<p><strong>Me</strong>: This is exactly why doctors do not want to deal with rash people. I’m giving you the treatment and you won’t stick to it. I put the cream on myself every morning without an issue.</p>
<p><strong>You</strong>: But you don’t have a rash! Putting this cream on when you have a rash is different than putting it on clear skin. I do want to get rid of my rash, but I cannot tolerate this cream. </p>
<p><strong>Me</strong>: If you don’t want to follow the treatment, that’s up to you. But it’s not the cream that needs changing. It is your attitude toward sticking with it.</p>
<p>This exchange illustrates prejudical behavior, bias and a disconnect between a provider’s perceptions and a patient’s experience. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="For people trying to lose weight, new approaches are needed." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356452/original/file-20200903-24-1p8ih1t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356452/original/file-20200903-24-1p8ih1t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356452/original/file-20200903-24-1p8ih1t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356452/original/file-20200903-24-1p8ih1t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356452/original/file-20200903-24-1p8ih1t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356452/original/file-20200903-24-1p8ih1t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356452/original/file-20200903-24-1p8ih1t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New approaches are needed for those trying to lose weight.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/cape-verdean-woman-weighing-herself-royalty-free-image/155771035?adppopup=true">Jamie Grill/JGI via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Prejudice and bias</h2>
<p>For someone who wants to lose weight, the experience of a diet and exercise prescription is not the same as for a lean person on the same program. Perceiving another person’s experience as the same as one’s own when circumstances are different <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2000.tb02464.x">fuels prejudice and bias</a>.</p>
<p>That night, though, you can’t help but wonder: “Is something wrong with me? Maybe my genes or thyroid or something? The cream seems so fun and easy for everyone else.” </p>
<p>At this point, the blame unconscionably lands on the patient. Despite an undeniable explosion of this rash, and abysmal treatment adherence rates while <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db313.htm">we have been touting the cream</a>, we stubbornly maintain it works. If the rash is expanding, and hundreds of millions of people are failing treatment or relapsing every day, well – it’s their own fault! </p>
<p>As time goes on, you feel increasingly discouraged and depressed because of this untenable situation. Frustration wears on your sense of optimism and chips away at your happy moments. You have this rash and you can’t tolerate the treatment plan, but no one believes you. They judge you, and say you choose not to use the cream because you lack willpower and resolve. You overhear their conversations: “It’s her own fault,” they say. “If that were me, I would just use the d#$% cream.” </p>
<p>This is the very definition of prejudice: an opinion, often negative, directed toward someone and related to something that the individual does not control. Although it has been extensively demonstrated that the causes for overweight and obesity are multifactorial, the myth that it’s the patient’s fault <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2000.tb02477.x">is still widely accepted</a>. This perception of controllability leads to the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn3800.pdf?origin=ppub">assignment of derogatory stigma</a>.</p>
<h2>A setup for failure</h2>
<p>That evening you sit alone. You think there’s not a single person on the planet who believes your body won’t tolerate this treatment. Society believes you brought this on yourself to begin with; there doesn’t seem to be a way out. </p>
<p>We have driven those with overweight and obesity conditions to this place far too many times. We have set them up to take the fall for our failed treatment approaches. When they came to us with the truth about tolerability, we loudly discredited them and said they were mentally weak, noncompliant or lazy. </p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>So where do we go from here? If we agree to stop stigmatizing, stereotyping and blaming patients for our treatment failures, and we accept that our current nonsurgical paradigm is ineffective – what takes its place? </p>
<p>For starters, we need a new approach, founded on respect and dignity for patients. A fresh lens of acceptance and suspended judgment will allow us to shift our focus toward treatments for the body, rather than “mind over matter,” which is a concept we use for no other medical condition. A perspective based in objectivity and equality will allow caregivers to escape the antiquated blaming approach and perceive those with overweight or obese conditions in the same light as those with other diseases. Only then will we finally shift the paradigm.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/145017/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>J. David Prologo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>All too often the medical community ‘fat-shames’ patients trying to lose weight, when in fact obesity and overweight are complicated medical issues.J. David Prologo, Associate Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Emory UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1434972020-07-30T08:59:01Z2020-07-30T08:59:01ZHere’s how the body reacts to one-off overeating – new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350187/original/file-20200729-31-1am7p83.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=33%2C0%2C5539%2C3717&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The participants were able to eat almost 3000 calories worth of pizza on average in one sitting.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-asian-man-eating-pizza-office-272788745">Dean Drobot/ Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Whether it’s a summer barbecue with friends, your favourite fast food takeaway, or Christmas dinner, we can probably all recall times when we’ve eaten more food in one sitting than we needed to. Plenty of research has looked at the long-term <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/obr.13040">health effects of overeating calories</a> – which include increased fat storage, impaired endocrine (hormone) control and changes to our skeletal muscle and fat tissue. Yet little is known about how our body copes with these one-off occasions of overindulgence, and whether they have any effect on our overall health – which is what <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/physiological-responses-to-maximal-eating-in-men/25C29D75CB1553B9D3D23E276295A4D8">our latest study</a> aimed to find out. </p>
<p>Humans have a huge capacity to overeat over an extended period of time. For example, members of the Massa tribe participate in Guru Walla, the traditional fattening festival where they attempt to gain as much weight as possible by eating as much as they can. Many members gain <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article-abstract/56/3/483/4715375?redirectedFrom=fulltext">11 kilograms of fat</a> in just two months by eating roughly 8700 calories per day – more than three times what most adults are advised to eat in a day. </p>
<p>While this is an extreme example, it shows us that our bodies are readily capable of over-eating – which isn’t necessarily a good thing. Even as little as <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/9/8/818">24 hours of overfeeding</a> can have some negative consequences for our health, including elevating blood sugar concentrations. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/physiological-responses-to-maximal-eating-in-men/25C29D75CB1553B9D3D23E276295A4D8">our latest study</a>, we wanted to understand how much humans can eat when they push past the point of fullness. We also wanted to know what effect this has on the body, by measuring how overeating affects metabolism in the hours after the meal. </p>
<p>We looked at a group of 14 healthy men between 22 and 37 years old. In one trial, we asked them to eat as much pizza as they could until they felt full. They ate roughly 1500 calories on average – just under one large pizza. </p>
<p>On a separate day, we then asked them to eat until they couldn’t anymore, going beyond the normal feeling of fullness. Remarkably, they managed to eat almost double – around 3,000 calories on average, though some were able to eat the equivalent of nearly two and a half large pizzas (4,800 calories). This suggested that when you feel full, you’re probably only half full.</p>
<p>Blood samples were taken at regular intervals for four hours after the beginning of the meal to see how the body was coping. Surprisingly, despite eating twice as much food, there was only a small increase in blood sugar and blood fat levels. Being able to keep blood sugar and fat in a normal range indicates how healthy a person’s metabolism is. It can also show the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/nbu.12259">risk for developing diseases</a>, including type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease. </p>
<p>In these physically active and healthy people, the body is able to control the sugar and fat in the blood after a big meal by working a bit harder than usual to control metabolism. We saw that hormones released from <a href="https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/physrev.00034.2006?rfr_dat=cr_pub++0pubmed&url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org">the gut</a> and pancreas (including insulin), helped the body to regulate blood sugar levels. Heart rate was also elevated after the meal, confirming that the body was working harder to keep things under control. </p>
<p>We also measured how people felt during the post-meal period, by looking at fullness, sleepiness, and cravings for certain types of foods. While we often feel like we have <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666315000793">room for dessert</a>, our study’s participants had little desire to eat anything (even sweet foods) when they ate past the point of feeling comfortably full – even four hours after the meal. We also found that people felt sleepier and less energetic after eating too much. </p>
<p>We only measured up to four hours after the meal to get a snapshot of how the participants were coping with overeating. If we measured a longer period – six or eight hours, for example – we may have seen some more differences, especially because blood fat concentrations <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/1602749">remain elevated</a> for longer. However, our results tell us that one meal of overeating doesn’t cause much harm for your health – although <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/9/8/818">24 hours</a> of overeating does seem to have an effect. So the focus of further research may be to understand how our bodies cope with the next meal after a binge.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Pizza, a cheeseburger, onion rings, and other unhealthy foods." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350189/original/file-20200729-35-omqklz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350189/original/file-20200729-35-omqklz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350189/original/file-20200729-35-omqklz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350189/original/file-20200729-35-omqklz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350189/original/file-20200729-35-omqklz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350189/original/file-20200729-35-omqklz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350189/original/file-20200729-35-omqklz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Frequent occasions of overeating could lead to serious diseases.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/fast-food-unhealthy-eating-concept-close-288575585">Syda Productions/ Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Understanding how the body copes so easily with occasions of extreme calorie intake helps us understand what goes wrong in the long-term. Healthy humans rely on the body’s ability to work harder in times of need (by increasing insulin, gut hormones and heart rate) to maintain metabolic control. When we repeatedly eat too many calories at each meal, <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/metabolic-syndrome/">metabolic syndrome</a> (a combination of high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity) will ensue and the body becomes unable to react to these situations.</p>
<p>Before starting the study, we were expecting the body to struggle with the huge calorie surplus of overeating. Our results show the body’s remarkable capacity to cope with the stress of eating too much food, by tightly regulating blood sugar concentrations and blood pressure. Throughout history, the human body has had to cope with periods of famine and abundance – this study is another demonstration of that evolutionary adaptation.</p>
<p>Though we focused on young, healthy participants, it will be important to now look at how the body copes with overeating in people who are overweight or at risk of disease, such as type 2 diabetes. But while overeating sometimes may be normal – and doesn’t pose too much of a risk to our health – it’s important to stress that eating more than we need on a regular basis isn’t healthy. This is partly because eating more calories than are required over a long period of time will lead to weight gain, and could lead to metabolic disease.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/143497/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Betts receives funding funding from GlaxoSmithKline, Lucozade Ribena Suntory, Kellogg’s, Nestlé and PepsiCo</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aaron Hengist and Rob Edinburgh do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The human body is built to adapt to the sudden stress of overeating.Aaron Hengist, PhD Candidate, Department for Health, University of BathJames Betts, Senior Lecturer in Nutrition, Metabolism and Statistics, University of BathRob Edinburgh, PhD Candidate, Health, University of BathLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1292862020-01-03T13:48:59Z2020-01-03T13:48:59ZHow to use habit science to help you keep your New Year’s resolution<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308365/original/file-20200102-11929-1lpjj45.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=15%2C15%2C5203%2C3928&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Willpower and habits involve different parts of the brain.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/set-addicted-human-characters-overeating-smoking-1467234629">lemono/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/articles/2015-12-29/why-80-percent-of-new-years-resolutions-fail">More than 80%</a> of people who make New Year’s resolutions have already given up on their goals by February.</p>
<p>While there’s a lot of resolution advice on the internet, much of it fails to highlight the crux of behavioral change. </p>
<p>To make individual decisions – whether it’s what to wear or which gift to buy for someone – <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763414002802">you draw on brain systems involving executive control</a>. You make the decision, add a shot of willpower and, voilà, it’s done. </p>
<p>But most resolutions don’t involve a single decision. Eating healthier, exercising more and spending less all involve habitual behaviors that involve <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn1919">neural circuitry</a> tied to unconscious thought. </p>
<p>Take eating. You can decide you want to eat healthier, but the memories of your eating habits persist. At around 11 a.m., you start thinking of muffins, your go-to morning snack. At 8 p.m., you automatically think of ice cream, your usual dessert. This is the way habits work: <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-psych-122414-033417">Certain contexts</a>, like times of the day and locations, bring to mind thoughts of certain rewards – like the tasty foods you tend to eat.</p>
<p>You can exert some willpower and stop yourself snacking over the course of one day. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8121959">But denial can backfire</a>: By quashing a desire, you give it extra fuel to plague you in the future. Over time, we tend to give up.</p>
<p>The key to mastering habits is to understand how difficult it is to simply will them away. But you can deploy a kind of “reverse-engineering” based on <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250159076">the science of habits</a>.</p>
<h2>The facts of friction</h2>
<p>One way to reverse engineer bad habits is to create friction. </p>
<p>Physical distance is a simple source of friction. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195666314000920">A 2014 study</a> involved a bowl of buttered popcorn and a bowl of apple slices. One group of participants sat closer to popcorn than the apple slices, and the other sat closer to the apple slices. The first group ate three times more calories. The second group of participants could see and smell the popcorn, but the distance created friction, and they were less likely to eat it.</p>
<p>For your own eating habits, the strategies can be as simply as putting junk food out of sight – off kitchen counters and into the pantry, so it’s slightly more difficult to access.</p>
<p>If you want to cultivate good habits, you can diminish the friction for the new behavior. <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-close-do-you-need-to-be-to-your-gym-1490111186">For example</a>, researchers looked at the GPS data of people with gym memberships. Those who traveled about 3.7 miles to a gym went five or more times a month. However, those who had to travel around 5.2 miles went only about once a month.</p>
<p>Again, the strategy is obvious: Reduce friction to working out. Choose a gym that’s on your way home from the office. Keep your gym bag always at the ready. My son, an avid bike racer, puts his <a href="https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&biw=1301&bih=740&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=iT4OXqaMEuSJggfZk53gBA&q=indoor+bike+trainer&oq=indoor+bike+trainer&gs_l=img.3..0l7j0i7i30l3.1190.1794..1891...0.0..1.421.1306.7j3-1j1......0....1..gws-wiz-img.......0i67.kKHMrOCxb6w&ved=0ahUKEwjm9OnNzeXmAhXkhOAKHdlJB0wQ4dUDCAY&uact=5">indoor bike trainer</a> in the middle of his living room before leaving for work. When he gets home, he finds it’s usually easier to do his planned workout.</p>
<h2>Out with the old cues</h2>
<p>Another strategy to reverse-engineer your habits is to change the cues that activate them. Cues can include the time of day, a location and the routines associated with a behavior. If you regularly make coffee, your cues might be entering your kitchen shortly after waking up and seeing your coffee machine.</p>
<p>Cues change naturally when you start new relationships, change jobs or move. These offer a window of opportunity to act on your goals and desires without being dragged down by the cues that trigger your old habits. </p>
<p>For example, <a href="http://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-016-9468-3">researchers found</a> in a 2017 study that professional athletes whose performance had declined often improved after being traded to or signing with a new team. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2007.10.005">Another study</a> found new residents of a small British town with strong environmental values mostly took the bus or cycled to work. But people who were not recent movers mostly drove, even though they held similar values. </p>
<p>When cues change, it becomes easier to switch up your habits and routines. Say you want to eat healthier. Try taking a new route to work instead of the one that takes you by the café where you buy double cream cappuccinos. When you’re chatting on the phone, do it in the living room instead of the kitchen.</p>
<p>Even in food-rich contexts, cue control is possible. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/oby.2008.286">A 2012 study</a> found that overweight patrons at all-you-can-eat buffet restaurants were more likely to sit facing the food, while thinner people tended to sit with their backs or sides facing the buffet. Thinner people were also more likely to put napkins on their laps, a minor way to add friction to getting more food.</p>
<p>Breaking out of bad habits isn’t easy. It takes time and repetition. But as you work toward forming better habits, you can, at the very least, incorporate these simple reverse-engineering strategies to help you avoid becoming one of the 80% of people who throw in the towel.</p>
<p>[ <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=expertise">Expertise in your inbox. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter and get a digest of academic takes on today’s news, every day.</a></em> ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/129286/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wendy Wood currently receives funding from NIH and the CDC for her research habits. </span></em></p>It’s incredibly difficult to will away bad habits. But two simple strategies can make things easier.Wendy Wood, Provost Professor of Psychology and Business, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and SciencesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1106742019-02-05T11:51:40Z2019-02-05T11:51:40ZHow to lose weight and keep it off – according to science<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257212/original/file-20190205-86220-vwoo49.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Losing weight is often at the forefront of many people’s minds <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/body/common-new-years-resolutions-stick/">at the start of the year</a>. But if weight loss was your goal for 2019, chances are that by now, you’ve probably already experienced some challenges.</p>
<p>That’s because sticking to a strict calorie controlled diet is not an easy task in modern environments – where tasty and high energy foods are attractive and easily available. Dieting is also made particularly difficult by our body’s <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/96/4/1114/2720862">rapid response to decreases in food intake</a> but opposing <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/single-day-of-mixedmacronutrient-overfeeding-does-not-elicit-compensatory-appetite-or-energy-intake-responses-but-exaggerates-postprandial-lipemia-during-the-next-day-in-healthy-young-men/A04D8A02F179B7BE99BFD1CDCBC09D21">lack of response to overeating</a>. This will be a familiar experience for many who have experienced almost immediate increases in hunger when dieting. </p>
<p>Most people will also have experienced how easy it is to overeat during holiday periods or other occasions. A main course meal at a UK full service restaurant, for example, is likely to contain more than half of the calories <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/363/bmj.k4982">required for an entire day</a>. </p>
<h2>Overeating not detected</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/single-day-of-mixedmacronutrient-overfeeding-does-not-elicit-compensatory-appetite-or-energy-intake-responses-but-exaggerates-postprandial-lipemia-during-the-next-day-in-healthy-young-men/A04D8A02F179B7BE99BFD1CDCBC09D21">Our recent research</a> has shown that overeating is poorly detected in humans, even when energy intake is increased to provide an excess of more than 1,000 calories per day.</p>
<p>In this study, overeating with 150% of the required daily calories did not change the appetite of participants. We tested for this by looking at appetite ratings and levels of specific hormones known to regulate appetite, as well as checking the food intake of participants during the next day. </p>
<p>Our findings showed how the body fails to adjust to account for these additional calories. This makes sense from an evolutionary perspective because in environments with limited access to food, overeating when food was available to our ancestors would increase their chances of survival by keeping them fuelled until food was available again. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/256361/original/file-20190130-42594-gt0gl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/256361/original/file-20190130-42594-gt0gl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256361/original/file-20190130-42594-gt0gl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256361/original/file-20190130-42594-gt0gl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256361/original/file-20190130-42594-gt0gl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256361/original/file-20190130-42594-gt0gl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256361/original/file-20190130-42594-gt0gl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Research shows many restaurant dishes contain more calories than fast-food meals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This shows that being aware of calorie intakes is important because short periods of accidental overeating can be sufficient to cause weight gain or impair weight loss. Indeed, some evidence suggests that <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM200003233421206">increases in body weight during the festive period</a> are maintained throughout the rest of the year. And may also be responsible for incremental annual increases in body weight. Similarly, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1038/oby.2008.320">overeating on a weekend</a> can easily cancel out a strict diet that is maintained on weekdays. </p>
<p>But understanding how easy it is to overeat does not mean that weight loss can’t be achieved. In fact, knowing this can help with weight loss – by being more aware of dietary choices. </p>
<h2>Don’t forget exercise</h2>
<p>Despite our body’s bias for weight gain, correct diet and lifestyle changes will <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/82/1/222S/4863393">produce and maintain weight loss</a> if this is the desired aim. </p>
<p>Exercise may often be overlooked as people seek “the best diet for weight loss”. But getting active still remains important if you want to lose weight – and especially for maintaining weight loss over prolonged periods of time. </p>
<p>Exercise can complement dietary changes and help to minimise the increases in hunger experienced from dieting alone. This is because exercise does not cause an increase in hunger <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666314002438?via%3Dihub">to the same extent as dieting</a>, despite also creating an energy deficit for weight loss. </p>
<p>In fact, <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/proceedings-of-the-nutrition-society/article/creating-an-acute-energy-deficit-without-stimulating-compensatory-increases-in-appetite-is-there-an-optimal-exercise-protocol/18C055B7BFEDB0148FCE71A4B841FA6F">hunger is reduced when exercising intensely</a>, which may help to stave off hunger pangs while increasing the energy deficit.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/256363/original/file-20190130-108351-tsy4r4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/256363/original/file-20190130-108351-tsy4r4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256363/original/file-20190130-108351-tsy4r4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256363/original/file-20190130-108351-tsy4r4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256363/original/file-20190130-108351-tsy4r4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256363/original/file-20190130-108351-tsy4r4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256363/original/file-20190130-108351-tsy4r4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sweating it out in the gym can support changes in eating habits.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The importance of exercise for maintaining weight loss was also recently highlighted with participants from the US televised weight loss competition, The Biggest Loser. The <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/oby.21986">tracking of participants for six years</a> after the show revealed that the people who maintained their weight loss had increased their physical activity by 160%. Whereas those who regained their lost weight had only increased physical activity by 34%.</p>
<h2>Flexibility needed</h2>
<p>Regardless of which dieting approach you choose, it is likely you will need a degree of flexibility – as most diets will require some compromise. </p>
<p>Perhaps, for example, you are invited to attend a meal at a restaurant for a special occasion or there is a holiday celebration involving additional eating. Being aware that your body is not likely to respond to the increased calorie intake means that you can adjust your behaviour to avoid or compensate for any overeating, for example by being more mindful of food choices in the days before or after an occasion, or increasing your exercise levels to counter any excesses.</p>
<p>What all this shows is that ultimately we should not rely on feedback signals from our body to detect levels of calorie intakes. Instead, conscious monitoring of diet and lifestyle behaviours is more than sufficient to counter our body’s natural bias for weight gain. And by appreciating this need for conscious monitoring, it may help you to achieve any desired weight loss goals over the year ahead.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/110674/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin Deighton has received funding from the Physiological Society, Nutrition Society, Ministry of Defence and Nutricia Research Foundation.</span></em></p>Your body doesn’t know when you’ve overeaten, but exercise can help.Kevin Deighton, Reader in Nutrition and Metabolism, Leeds Beckett UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1097132019-01-14T18:02:07Z2019-01-14T18:02:07ZMemories of eating influence your next meal – new research pinpoints brain cells involved<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253726/original/file-20190114-43510-1dop2jn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=313%2C364%2C4093%2C2811&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What you had before sways what you eat next time – but only if you remember.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/dirty-square-plate-fork-1016514409">MaxSokolov/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Of course you know that eating is vital to your survival, but have you ever thought about how your brain controls how much you eat, when you eat and what you eat?</p>
<p>This is not a trivial question, because <a href="https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/overweight-obesity">two-thirds of Americans</a> are either overweight <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html">or obese</a> and overeating is a major cause of this epidemic. To date, the scientific effort to understand how the brain controls eating has focused primarily on brain areas involved in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2016.12.050">hunger, fullness and pleasure</a>. To be better armed in the fight against obesity, neuroscientists, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=OZfbgjkAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">including me</a>, are starting to expand our investigation to other parts of the brain associated with different functions. My lab’s recent research focuses on one that’s been relatively overlooked: memory.</p>
<p>For many people, decisions about whether to eat now, what to eat and how much to eat are often influenced by memories of what they ate recently. For instance, in addition to my scale and tight clothes, my memory of overeating pizza yesterday played a pivotal role in my decision to eat salad for lunch today.</p>
<p>Memories of recently eaten foods can serve as a powerful mechanism for controlling eating behavior because they provide you with a record of your recent intake that likely outlasts most of the hormonal and brain signals generated by your meal. But surprisingly, the brain regions that allow memory to control future eating behavior are largely unknown. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253729/original/file-20190114-43529-15pxwar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253729/original/file-20190114-43529-15pxwar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253729/original/file-20190114-43529-15pxwar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253729/original/file-20190114-43529-15pxwar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253729/original/file-20190114-43529-15pxwar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253729/original/file-20190114-43529-15pxwar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253729/original/file-20190114-43529-15pxwar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253729/original/file-20190114-43529-15pxwar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Distraction by TV or video games now can lead to overeating later on.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-young-african-woman-holding-tv-1122437207">Dean Drobot/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Memories of last meal influence the next</h2>
<p>Studies done in people support the idea that meal-related memory can control future eating behavior.</p>
<p>When researchers impair the memory of a meal by distracting healthy participants while they eat – such as by having them play computer games or watch television – <a href="https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.112.045245">people eat more at the next opportunity</a>. The opposite is also true: enhancing meal-related memory by having people reflect on what they just ate decreases future intake.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02132.x">Patients suffering from amnesia</a> do not remember eating and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9280.00073">will eat when presented with food</a>, even if they have just eaten and should feel full. And memory deficits are associated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2015.1099163">overeating and increased weight</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2017.05.011">in relatively healthy people</a>.</p>
<p>So what’s going on? We all know that we don’t eat just because we’re hungry. Most of our decisions about eating are influenced by a myriad of other influences that have nothing to do with how hungry or full we are, such as time of day, the sight and smell of food, or an advertisement for a favorite restaurant. My lab has chosen to focus on memory, in part, because it is something that is adaptable and more within our control. </p>
<p>We’ve started our search by focusing on a brain region called the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocampus">hippocampus</a>, which is absolutely vital for personal memories of what, where and when something happened to you.</p>
<p>Interestingly, hippocampal cells receive signals about hunger status and are connected to other brain areas that are important for starting and stopping eating, <a href="https://theconversation.com/chemical-messengers-how-hormones-make-us-feel-hungry-and-full-35545">such as the hypothalamus</a>. My colleagues and I reasoned that if hippocampal-dependent memory inhibits future eating, then disrupting hippocampal function after a meal is eaten, when the memory of the meal is being stabilized, should promote eating later on when these cells are functioning normally.</p>
<h2>Effect of turning neurons off, then back on</h2>
<p>In my lab, we <a href="https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0457-18.2018">tested this prediction</a> using <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/optogenetics-controlling/">optogenetics</a>. This state-of-the-art method uses light to control individual cells in a behaving animal. We were able to inhibit hippocampal cells for 10 minutes before, during or after rats ate a meal.</p>
<p>To do this, we inserted a specific gene into hippocampal cells that caused these cells to immediately stop functioning as soon as we shined light of a certain wavelength on them. The cells remained inactive as long as we shined the light. Crucially, their function returned to normal as soon as we turned the light off.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253680/original/file-20190114-43538-5h45ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253680/original/file-20190114-43538-5h45ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253680/original/file-20190114-43538-5h45ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253680/original/file-20190114-43538-5h45ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253680/original/file-20190114-43538-5h45ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253680/original/file-20190114-43538-5h45ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253680/original/file-20190114-43538-5h45ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253680/original/file-20190114-43538-5h45ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Area of the hippocampus in a rat’s brain controlled during the study. The front of the animal’s brain is on the left.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0457-18.2018">Hannapel et al., eNeuro (2019)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We discovered that optogenetically inhibiting hippocampal cells after rats ate a meal caused the animals to eat their next meal sooner and caused them to eat almost twice as much food during that next meal. And remember, the hippocampal cells were working normally by the time the rats ate again. We saw this effect after the intervention whether the rats were offered rodent chow, a sugar solution, or water sweetened with saccharin.</p>
<p>That rats would eat more saccharin after we interfered with their hippocampal function is particularly interesting because saccharin is a noncaloric sweetener that produces very few of the gastrointestinal (GI) chemical signals normally generated by food. We concluded that the effect we saw after inactivating hippocampal cells is most likely explained by an effect on memory consolidation, rather than by an impaired ability to process GI messages. </p>
<p>Thus, our findings show that hippocampal cells are necessary during the period following a meal for limiting future energy intake. We suggest that neurons in the hippocampus inhibit future eating behavior by consolidating the memory of the preceding meal.</p>
<p>These findings have significant implications for understanding the causes of obesity and the ways in which to treat it. Scientists, including <a href="http://sites.gsu.edu/parentlab/">my research group</a> have shown in previous studies that feeding rats too much fat or sugar impairs hippocampal memory. Similarly, overeating and obesity in humans are associated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2015.106">hippocampal damage</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2015.1099163">hippocampal-dependent memory deficits</a>.</p>
<p>Impaired hippocampal functioning, in turn, leads to further overeating and weight gain, leading to a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2015.12.001">vicious cycle that may perpetuate obesity</a>. Our research adds to the growing body of evidence that suggests that techniques that promote hippocampal-dependent memories of what, when and how much one eats <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881117736917">may prove to be promising strategies</a> for reducing eating and promoting weight loss.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/109713/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marise Parent receives funding from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).</span></em></p>What you remember of your last meal affects when and how much you eat next time around. Neuroscientists have now identified neurons in the brain’s hippocampus that are crucial to this process.Marise Parent, Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology and Associate Director of the Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1058722018-11-14T10:34:37Z2018-11-14T10:34:37ZWhy some people overeat when they’re upset<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244940/original/file-20181111-116853-aiy89h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Comfort food.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/man-eating-fast-food-331449296?src=DMkqNXFWpm-9kVKqSbTiEw-1-0">Ollyy/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The idea of eating a tub of ice cream to cope with being upset has become a bit cliche. Though some might not need a tub of chocolate swirl to help perk themselves up again, there do seem to be systematic differences in the way that people cope with <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11892-018-1000-x.pdf">upsetting events</a>, with some more likely to find solace in food than others. </p>
<p>This matters because when eating to cope with negative feelings is part of a broader tendency to overeat, it is likely to be <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1467-789X.2007.00426.x">associated with obesity and being overweight</a>. More people than ever are now overweight and obese, with <a href="https://www.obesityday.worldobesity.org/world-obesity-day-2017">recent estimates</a> suggesting that by 2025, 2.7 billion adults worldwide will be affected by obesity, risking health issues such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer. </p>
<p>So why do some people manage their emotions with food while others don’t? One psychological concept that helps to explain this difference is <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0022-0167.47.3.283">adult attachment orientation</a>. Depending on the extent to which we fear abandonment by those we love, adults fall somewhere on the dimension of “attachment anxiety”. Where we fall on this dimension (high or low) determines a set of expectations about how we and others behave in personal relationships. These are developed as a response to the care we received as an infant and this can characterise your attachment style.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244939/original/file-20181111-116841-qxjl3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244939/original/file-20181111-116841-qxjl3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244939/original/file-20181111-116841-qxjl3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244939/original/file-20181111-116841-qxjl3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244939/original/file-20181111-116841-qxjl3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244939/original/file-20181111-116841-qxjl3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244939/original/file-20181111-116841-qxjl3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Crying into ice cream might be a stereotype but it shows how we cope with our emotions differently.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/evening-heartbroken-girl-sitting-on-sofa-771099580?src=qFy_u6-3DYoiyj22k41IHA-1-17">Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A recent <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666317303525">meta-analysis</a> – a study bringing together the results of many other studies – showed that the higher a person’s attachment anxiety, the more they engage in unhealthy eating behaviours, with <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ijo201072">a knock-on effect on body mass index (BMI)</a>. Two other studies have also shown that patients undergoing weight loss surgery are likely to have <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11695-017-2796-1">higher attachment anxiety</a> scores than a comparable lean population, and it is thought that this difference is <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ijo2017157">partly explained by the tendency to overeat</a>. </p>
<h2>Understanding attachment anxiety</h2>
<p>For a long time, <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0022-3514.75.2.420">we have known</a> that people who are have high attachment anxiety are more likely to both notice upsetting things and find it harder to manage their emotions when upset. This is because of how attachment orientations come about in the first place. The dynamics and feelings relating to our most important long-term relationships, including in early life, act as a templates that guide our behaviour in subsequent relationships and in stressful situations. </p>
<p>If we receive consistent care from a caregiver, which includes helping us to cope with problems in life, we develop a secure attachment orientation. For people high in security, when a negative life event occurs, they are able to seek support from others or soothe themselves by thinking about the sorts of things that their caregiver or other significant person would say to them in that situation. </p>
<p>However, inconsistent care – where the caregiver sometimes responds to another’s needs but at other times does not – leads to attachment anxiety and a fear that our needs won’t be met. When negative life events occur, support from others is sought but perceived as unreliable. People with high attachment anxiety are also less able to self-soothe than people with a secure attachment. </p>
<p>We <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666317318378">recently tested</a> whether this poor emotional management could explain why people with attachment anxiety are more likely to overeat. Importantly, we found that for people high in attachment anxiety it was harder to disengage from whatever was upsetting them and to get on with what they were supposed to be doing. These negative emotions were managed with food and this related to a higher BMI. </p>
<p>It is important to note, however, that this is only one factor among many that can influence overeating and BMI. We cannot say that attachment anxiety causes overeating and weight gain. It might be that overeating and weight gain influences our attachment orientation, or it could be a bit of both. </p>
<h2>Managing eating behaviour</h2>
<p>There are two approaches that appear promising for attachment anxious individuals seeking to manage their eating behaviour. These involve targeting the specific attachment orientation itself and/or improving emotion regulation skills in general. </p>
<p>To target attachment orientation, one possibility is a psychological technique called “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352250X1830037X">security priming</a>” designed to make people behave like “secures”, who cope well with negative life events. It results in beneficial effects more generally, such as engaging in more pro-social behaviours. <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0265407512468371">One study</a> showed that priming is related to snack intake. When people are asked to reflect on secure relationships in their life they eat less in a later snacking episode than when asked to reflect on anxious relationships in their life (though this work is very preliminary and needs replicating and extending). </p>
<p>Looking at emotion regulation, a <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11892-018-1000-x.pdf">recently published paper</a> highlighted the importance of emotional eaters focusing on skills such as coping with stress rather than calorie restriction, when seeking to lose weight. This study did not look solely at those with attachment anxiety, however, so further work is needed explore this further.</p>
<p>Of course, in an ideal world everybody would have relationship experiences that helped them to develop high attachment security, and perhaps this is a hidden third approach – facilitating better caregiving and interpersonal relationships for all.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/105872/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charlotte Hardman receives research funding from the American Beverage Association. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Angela Rowe and Laura Wilkinson do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>This is what happens when emotions eat you up.Laura Wilkinson, Lecturer in Psychology, Swansea UniversityAngela Rowe, Reader in Social Cognitive Psychology, University of BristolCharlotte Hardman, Lecturer in Appetite and Obesity, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/977262018-06-05T15:29:18Z2018-06-05T15:29:18ZOne in three women binge eat during pregnancy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221737/original/file-20180605-119863-50krbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C26%2C1000%2C672&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/637178002?src=iVYIHuJ2JYQSysZ6Mi8bdg-1-19&size=medium_jpg">DinaPhoto/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Binge eating in pregnancy has serious health implications for mothers and their children. And our <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/ajcn/nqy040/5026246?redirectedFrom=fulltext">latest study</a> shows that it is surprisingly common. Just over 36% of women reported “loss of control over eating” while they were pregnant, with 5% reporting frequent loss of control. </p>
<p>Many earlier studies – including our own – have investigated anorexia and bulimia during pregnancy, but few have looked at binge eating or loss-of-control eating. (Loss-of-control eating is when you feel as though you can’t stop eating, even if you want to, irrespective of the amount consumed.) No one had studied the impact of these behaviours on the offspring. </p>
<p>To fill in these gaps in the scientific knowledge, we analysed data of more than 11,000 women from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avon_Longitudinal_Study_of_Parents_and_Children">Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children</a>. Women from the west of England were included in the study in pregnancy, and both them and their children have contributed to the study over the past 24 years, providing amazing insights into many health problems.</p>
<h2>Overeating for two</h2>
<p>Our analysis of the data, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, showed that 36% of women experienced loss-of-control eating during pregnancy. </p>
<p>Just over 5% of the women in our sample experienced frequent loss of control while eating. These women gained an extra 3.5kg (8.2lb), on average, during pregnancy, compared with women who didn’t experience loss-of-control eating. The children of these women were twice as likely to be obese at age 15. </p>
<p>Women who frequently lost control over eating had less vitamin B1 and folic acid, compared with women who didn’t lose control over eating.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221752/original/file-20180605-119853-1g8daac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221752/original/file-20180605-119853-1g8daac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221752/original/file-20180605-119853-1g8daac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221752/original/file-20180605-119853-1g8daac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221752/original/file-20180605-119853-1g8daac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221752/original/file-20180605-119853-1g8daac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221752/original/file-20180605-119853-1g8daac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Babies whose mothers binge ate during pregnancy were more likely to be overweight.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/671543716?src=upYUKs_TlqvS6Ub4q-M3kQ-1-7&size=medium_jpg">Garnet Photo/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Mothers who reported any loss-of-control eating during pregnancy consumed more calories while pregnant and ate more snacks, such as chocolate and cakes. They also had a lower intake of vitamin A, C and B6, and put on more weight during pregnancy, compared with women who didn’t lose control over eating during pregnancy. They were also more likely to diet during pregnancy and were more likely to be unhappy with their body shape.</p>
<p>Loss-of-control eaters also gave birth to heavier babies, and those children were twice more likely to be overweight or obese at age 15.</p>
<p>Although we cannot say exactly why loss-of-control eating during pregnancy is associated with child obesity, the link suggests a way to avoid childhood obesity, which is a growing problem around the world. Identifying women who have loss-of-control eating and supporting them with targeted treatment, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, might help both maternal and child health.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97726/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nadia Micali receives funding from National Institute of Health Research UK, Medical Research Council, National Institute of Mental Health-US. </span></em></p>First study to look at binge eating during pregnancy and the long-term outcome for mother and child.Nadia Micali, NIHR Clinician Scientist, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/941272018-05-02T11:11:45Z2018-05-02T11:11:45ZHow a better understanding of the seven ages of appetite could help us stay healthy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/216888/original/file-20180430-135806-1mmsjtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What we eat, how much and how often changes over our lives.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/inscription-you-what-eat-on-wooden-369859274">milsamil/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Do you eat to live or live to eat? We have a complicated relationship with food, influenced by cost, availability, even peer pressure. But something we all share is appetite – our desire to eat. Increased appetite might have a physical or psychological dimension, but while hunger – our body’s way of making us desire food when it needs feeding – is a part of appetite, it is not the only factor. After all, we often eat when we’re not hungry, or may skip a meal despite pangs of hunger. Recent <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811918300144">research</a> has highlighted that the abundance of food cues – smells, sounds, advertising – in our environment is one of the main causes of overconsumption.</p>
<p>Our appetite is not fixed, it changes across our lifespan as we age. But as our choice of food will be an important factor to our health and well-being throughout our lives, it’s important that we get into the right habits. As Shakespeare might have put it, there are <a href="https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/310600.html">seven ages of appetite</a>, and a better understanding of these phases would help us to develop new ways of tackling under-eating and overconsumption, and particularly the health effects such as obesity that follow. </p>
<h2>First decade, 0-10</h2>
<p>In early childhood the body goes through rapid growth. Dietary behaviour built up in early life can extend to adulthood, leading a fat child to become a fat adult. Fussiness or fear of food can contribute to meal time struggles for parents of young children, but a strategy of repeated tasting and learning in a positive environment can help children learn about unfamiliar but important foods, such as vegetables. </p>
<p>Children should experience some control, particularly in relation to portion size. Being forced to “clear the plate” by parents can lead youngsters to lose their ability to follow their own appetite and hunger cues, promoting overeating in later years. There are growing calls for governments to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29164673">protect young children from targeted junk food advertising</a> – not just on television but in apps, social media and video blogs – since food advertising increases food consumption, contributing to becoming overweight. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/216884/original/file-20180430-135803-ownmbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/216884/original/file-20180430-135803-ownmbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/216884/original/file-20180430-135803-ownmbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216884/original/file-20180430-135803-ownmbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216884/original/file-20180430-135803-ownmbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216884/original/file-20180430-135803-ownmbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216884/original/file-20180430-135803-ownmbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216884/original/file-20180430-135803-ownmbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s important to ensure children develop good eating habits early on.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/little-happy-cute-boy-eating-donut-632097335">Sharomka/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Second decade, 10-20</h2>
<p>In the teenage years, a growth in appetite and stature driven by hormones signals the arrival of puberty and the development from child into adult. How a teenager approaches food during this critical period will shape their lifestyle choices in later years. This means the dietary decisions adolescents make are intrinsically linked to the health of the future generations that they will be parents to. Unfortunately, without guidance teenagers may adopt eating behaviours and food preferences associated with unhealthy consequences. </p>
<p>We need more studies to determine the most effective ways of tackling the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24102966">rising burden of over and under-nutrition</a>, particularly the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28384795">link with poverty and social inequality</a>. Young women in general are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29631269">more likely to suffer from nutritional deficiencies</a> than young men because of their reproductive biology. Teenage girls who become pregnant are also at greater risk since their body is supporting their own growth in competition with that of the growing foetus.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-why-is-it-so-hard-to-lose-weight-51510">Explainer: why is it so hard to lose weight?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Third decade, 20-30</h2>
<p>As young adults, lifestyle changes that can prompt weight gain include going to college, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-numbers-show-that-marriage-does-make-men-fatter-80113">getting married</a> or living with a partner, and parenthood. Once accumulated, body fat is often difficult to lose: the body sends strong appetite signals to eat when we consume less than our energy needs, but the signals to prevent overeating are weaker, which can lead to a circle of over-consumption. There are many physiological and psychological factors that make eating less difficult to maintain over time. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/afpTd5g0aoA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>An area of new research interest is to develop satiety, the sense of having eaten enough. This is helpful when trying to lose weight, since feeling hungry is one of the main limitations to managing to eat less than your body is telling you you need – running a “calorie deficit”. Different foods send different signals to the brain. It’s easy to eat a tub of ice cream, for example, because fat doesn’t trigger signals in the brain for us to stop eating. On the other hand, foods high in protein, water or fibre content are able to make us feel fuller for longer. Working with the food industry provides an opportunity <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26847622">to shape the future of meals and snacks</a> in beneficial ways.</p>
<h2>Fourth decade, 30-40</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/216887/original/file-20180430-135817-1x5j1rt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/216887/original/file-20180430-135817-1x5j1rt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216887/original/file-20180430-135817-1x5j1rt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216887/original/file-20180430-135817-1x5j1rt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216887/original/file-20180430-135817-1x5j1rt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216887/original/file-20180430-135817-1x5j1rt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216887/original/file-20180430-135817-1x5j1rt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Middle age spread.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/overweight-90784256?src=JUZg8Ip4qgL6w1hmDDLmKQ-1-1">Umit Urdem/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Adult working life brings other challenges: not just a rumbling stomach, but also the effects of stress, which has been shown to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22647308">prompt changes in appetite and eating habits in 80% of the population</a>, equally divided between those that gorge and those that lose their appetite. The different coping strategies are intriguing: the phenomena of “food addiction” – an irresistible urge to consume specific, often high-calorie foods – is not well understood. Many researchers even <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25205078">question its existence</a>. Other personality traits such as perfectionism and conscientiousness may also play a role in mediating stress and eating behaviour. </p>
<p>Structuring the work environment to reduce problematic eating patterns such as snacking or vending machines is a challenge. Employers should strive to subsidise and promote healthier eating for a productive and healthy workforce – particularly ways of managing stress and stressful situations.</p>
<h2>Fifth decade, 40-50</h2>
<p>We are creatures of habit, often unwilling to change our preferences even when we know it is good for us. The word diet comes from the Greek word <em>diaita</em> meaning “way of life, mode of living”, yet we want to eat what we want without changing our lifestyle, and still have a healthy body and mind. </p>
<p>There is much evidence to show that diet is a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14972057">major contributing factor to ill-health</a>. The World Health Organisation highlights smoking, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and problem drinking as the <a href="http://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/noncommunicable-diseases">main lifestyle impacts on health and mortality</a>. It is in these years that adults should change their behaviour as their health dictates, but symptoms of illness are often invisible – for example high blood pressure or cholesterol – and so many fail to act.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/216886/original/file-20180430-135830-8oseyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/216886/original/file-20180430-135830-8oseyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216886/original/file-20180430-135830-8oseyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216886/original/file-20180430-135830-8oseyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216886/original/file-20180430-135830-8oseyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216886/original/file-20180430-135830-8oseyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216886/original/file-20180430-135830-8oseyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">As we age it becomes more important to eat well and enough, but often the desire to do so fades.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/senior-woman-eating-her-lunch-home-183498014">Kristo-Gothard Hunor/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Sixth decade, 50-60</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://academic.oup.com/advances/article/6/4/452/4568676">gradual loss of muscle mass</a>, at between 0.5–1% per year after the age of 50, begins and continues a steady course into old age. This is called <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4066461/">sarcopenia</a>, and lessened physical activity, consuming less than protein requirements, and menopause in women will accelerate the decline in muscle mass. A healthy, varied diet and physical activity are important to reduce the effects of ageing, and an ageing population’s need for palatable, cost-effective, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29547523">higher-protein foods</a> is not being met. Protein‐rich snack foods might represent an ideal opportunity to increase total protein intake in older adults, but there are currently few products designed to meet the requirements and preferences of older adults.</p>
<h2>Seventh decade, 60-70, and beyond</h2>
<p>A major challenge today in the face of increasing life expectancy is to maintain quality of life, or else we will become a society of very old and infirm or disabled people. Adequate nutrition is important, as old age brings poor appetite and lack of hunger, which leads to unintentional weight loss and greater frailty. Reduced appetite can also result from illness, for example the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28267864">Food is a social experience</a>, and changing factors such as poverty, loss of a partner or family and eating alone affect the sense of pleasure taken from eating. Other affects of old age, such as swallowing problems, dental issues, reduced taste and smell (“<a href="https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/310600.html">sans teeth … sans taste</a>”) also interferes with the desire to eat and the rewards from doing so. </p>
<p>We should remember that throughout life our food is not just fuel, but a social and cultural experience to be enjoyed. We are all experts in food – we do it every day. So we should strive to treat every opportunity to eat as an opportunity to enjoy our food and to enjoy the positive effects eating the right foods have on our health.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/94127/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alex Johnstone receives funding from Medical Research Council, The University of Aberdeen, The Scottish Government, Biological Sciences Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, National Health Service Endowments award, Tennovus Charity, Chief Scientist Office and European Community. </span></em></p>Shakespeare wrote of the ‘seven ages of man’, and our appetite for food changes as we age too – with implications for our health.Alex Johnstone, Personal Chair in Nutrition, The Rowett Institute, University of AberdeenLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/893232018-01-03T13:23:12Z2018-01-03T13:23:12ZFive reasons why we overeat<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200648/original/file-20180103-26160-1iygy3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/582422260?src=xxnysecFFFS8OiSdlr3i0g-1-0&size=huge_jpg">Djordje Mustur/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>We tend to think that we stop eating when our stomachs are full. Science shows otherwise. Here are five reasons we often overeat without realising it. </p>
<h2>1. Portion size</h2>
<p>Visual aspects of a meal, such as portion size, have been shown to influence how much we eat. In an American <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1038/oby.2005.12/full">study</a> on satiety, participants were seated at a table and instructed to eat soup. Half of the bowls were slowly and imperceptibly refilled, via a tube beneath the table, as their contents were consumed. The participants whose bowls were covertly refilled consumed 73% more soup than those who refilled the bowls themselves, but they didn’t believe they had consumed more, nor did they feel more full than those eating from normal bowls.</p>
<p>It’s unlikely that someone is secretly refilling your bowl under the table, but it’s important to be aware that you are likely to eat however much food is on your plate.</p>
<h2>2. Variety</h2>
<p>Usually, when eating, we get used to the taste of the food, which means we get less pleasure from it and so stop eating. This effect is called “sensory-specific satiety”. It essentially means we get full for that specific taste. However, when we eat a varied plate of food, switching between the foods continues to renew their palatability. </p>
<p>When researchers tested this effect, they found people <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0031938481900147">ate four times as much</a> when given multiple different foods. The sensory-specific satiety effect tends to be enhanced the more different the foods are to each other. This variety means you will enjoy the food for longer and keep the feeling of being full at bay. </p>
<p>Although <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/Healthyeating.aspx">nutritional advice</a> suggests a varied diet for good health, you should be wary of situations that result in lots of different food items on your plate at the same time, such as buffet meals. </p>
<h2>3. Distraction</h2>
<p>People often eat while doing other things, such as watching TV, working or catching up on social media. But <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666314000130">eating while distracted</a> interferes with mechanisms that normally stop an eating session, such as liking a food less after consuming a certain amount of it, meaning that it will take longer to feel full. Also, when distracted you are less aware of becoming full and so need to consume more food to reduce hunger. </p>
<p>You’ve probably already heard that eating while distracted tends to increase intake, but what you might not know is that this effect continues throughout the day. Distraction can disrupt both your awareness of fullness when eating and your memory of the food eaten, which makes you more likely to <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666315002822">eat more later in the day</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200675/original/file-20180103-26160-1nptgc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200675/original/file-20180103-26160-1nptgc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200675/original/file-20180103-26160-1nptgc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200675/original/file-20180103-26160-1nptgc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200675/original/file-20180103-26160-1nptgc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200675/original/file-20180103-26160-1nptgc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200675/original/file-20180103-26160-1nptgc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How not to eat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/761786605?src=heMAJf9pP9VU6J4VwfNRhA-1-6&size=huge_jpg">Farknot Architect/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>4. Alcohol</h2>
<p>Alcohol increases the likelihood of overeating for several reasons, including reduced self-control and increased impulsivity. It can even make food tastier. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5353231/">Recent research</a> suggests it may also disrupt your ability to monitor your body’s signals, so-called interoception.</p>
<p>Interoception can be measured by a heartbeat tracking task. People who are better at this task are more likely to be a <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1471015314000828">healthy weight</a> and have healthy eating habits. Just two <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030646031730477X">alcoholic drinks</a> significantly decreases a person’s ability to track their own heartbeat on this task. </p>
<h2>5. Eating with others</h2>
<p>Eating a meal with other people increases the amount you are likely to eat. The foods you choose to eat are also likely to be influenced – you are more likely to choose similar food to those around you. </p>
<p>This effect is enhanced when we have close relationships with the people we are eating with as we feel a stronger need to identify with them. This is primarily a social effect, where we use others’ eating behaviour as a guide for our own. However, recent research suggests this phenomenon may also affect your <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666314005017">experience of eating</a>. If people you identify with are enjoying a particular food, it suggests to you that the food will taste good. Expecting a food to taste good increases how much it is <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666310008354">liked</a> which in turn increases the amount eaten.</p>
<p>So, what can we do to combat overeating if we are not aware of it. <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.sussex.ac.uk/science/article/pii/S0195666307001304">Research</a> shows that eating attentively (focusing on the food without any distractions) reduces current and subsequent intake by increasing awareness and memory for the food eaten. Other research has shown that a <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2458-13-639">smartphone-based attentive eating app</a>, which involved photographing, answering questions and being reminded about food consumed, can help with weight loss. So, even when it is not possible to eat attentively at the time of eating, it might still be worth taking a photo of your food to avoid overeating throughout the day.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/89323/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jenny Morris does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Understanding the psychology behind why we overeat can help us to consume less.Jenny Morris, PhD Candidate, University of SussexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/749152017-04-24T23:24:35Z2017-04-24T23:24:35ZFor restaurants looking to boost profits, it’s often about everything but the food<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166545/original/file-20170424-12629-d1k18a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Lighting, layout and music can determine whether you'll be grabbing a quick bite or staying a while.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/626883758?src=HigEuKs64_emuN7Q3n1wPQ-1-56&size=huge_jpg">'Diners' via www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Staying one step ahead of the competition in the hypercompetitive restaurant industry requires more than simply tinkering with the menu. Serving tasty food doesn’t do much good if customers don’t stay long enough – or never even walk through the door in the first place.</p>
<p>People in the restaurant business have long understood that design and ambiance matter a great deal, and studies by <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/8385870_Effect_of_ambience_on_food_intake_and_food_choice">environmental psychologists</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15325695">other social scientists</a> confirm that the shrewd manipulation of a restaurant’s physical environment can boost profits.</p>
<p>Consequently, a perpetual arms race of restaurant redesign has become a defining feature of many American restaurant chains.</p>
<p>The scramble has been especially frantic in recent years, with fast food giants KFC, Arby’s, Panera and Subway <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fast-food-chain-redesign-is-trending-2016-1">all revamping their interiors</a>, along with casual dining chains such as <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-07-09/olive-gardens-redesign-bids-farewell-to-fake-old-world-charm">Olive Garden</a> and <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/leticiamiranda/tgi-fridays-is-trying-a-new-restaurant-design-to-bring-in-yo?utm_term=.ljbdVjnjW#.prwow0v04">T.G.I.Friday’s</a>.</p>
<p>This attention to detail matters, with studies showing that everything from the color of the lighting to the appearance of the waitstaff can influence the dining behavior of patrons.</p>
<h2>Sometimes it is all about the presentation</h2>
<p>In 2010, Cassandra Smith, a 20-year-old Hooters waitress who was 5'8" and weighed 132 pounds, was told by her boss that she needed to lose weight if she wanted to keep her job. <a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/05/rare_michigan_law_may_help_wai.html">Smith ended up suing Hooters for weight discrimination</a> and settled out of court.</p>
<p>But a <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0013916515621108">2013 study</a> suggests that when restaurants discriminate against overweight employees, it may not be just a public relations problem – it could actually undermine the bottom line.</p>
<p>A team of researchers observed approximately 500 people as they ate in 60 different restaurants. They assessed the body mass index (BMI) and body type of every diner and his or her server, keeping track of the number of appetizers, soups, salads, main courses, desserts and beverages each ordered.</p>
<p>When it came to the unhealthiest part of the meal – alcoholic beverages and desserts – customers tended to order significantly more when they had an overweight server.</p>
<p>The authors hypothesized that interacting with an overweight person in a restaurant created what psychologists call a “situational social norm.” In other words, the overweight waiter changed social expectations, more or less giving diners a license to indulge themselves. (<a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0013916515621108">The authors admitted</a>, however, that this was purely speculation on their part.)</p>
<p>The weight of the waitstaff is just one of many situational triggers that influence what we order at restaurants. </p>
<p>Props can play a role; for example, <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15378020.2011.548221">nautical decor</a> makes us more likely to order seafood. We’re also inclined to <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950329312001322">choose drinks that are related to the theme of the bar</a>, whether it’s ordering whiskey in an Irish pub or having a glass of red wine at an Italian restaurant. <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S027843190600003X">Another study</a> indicated that bars that play drinking songs get their customers to order more drinks.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q37Buy5LgNA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Want customers to shell out more for drinks? Cue up Kiss’ ‘Cold Gin.’</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Companies consciously adopt color schemes they believe will influence their customers. <a href="https://www.qsrmagazine.com/store/mind-over-matter">Green</a> is thought to facilitate the ordering of salads and other healthy foods, while the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/8385870_Effect_of_ambience_on_food_intake_and_food_choice">color of coffee pots</a> can influence perceptions of the strength and aroma of coffee. Specifically, coffee in blue pots can seem too mild, while coffee in brown pots seems too strong. Red appears to be the right “Goldilocks” color where everything seems just right.</p>
<p>It’s even been shown that the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/8385870_Effect_of_ambience_on_food_intake_and_food_choice">color of orange juice</a> can alter how sweet it seems, a glass of wine <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950329312001322">tastes sweeter under red lighting</a> and <a href="https://flavourjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/2044-7248-2-23">whiskey is thought to have a “woodier” taste</a> when it’s sipped in a room with wood décor.</p>
<h2>Design by the bottom line</h2>
<p>In many cases, a restaurant’s design is closely aligned with its profit model.</p>
<p>Studies have shown that design features that heighten arousal levels – bright lights, loud music and bright colors – get people to <a href="http://foodpsychology.cornell.edu/discoveries/music-and-light">eat more food and to eat it faster</a>. Bright lights also <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/8385870_Effect_of_ambience_on_food_intake_and_food_choice">decrease the length of patrons’ visits and the amount of alcohol that they consume</a>. </p>
<p>At fast food restaurants – where a quick turnover of customers is a key to success and ordering alcohol often isn’t an option – all of these elements, from bright lights to loud music, are usually a part of the dining experience. And it’s probably no coincidence that <a href="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1244149/thumbs/o-WENDYS-HIDDEN-MESSAGE-570.jpg?4">Wendy’s</a>, <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3a/Burger_King_Logo.svg/1024px-Burger_King_Logo.svg.png">Burger King</a>, <a href="http://www.missionmeasurement.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/mcdonalds.jpg">McDonald’s</a>, <a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/5c/8e/41/5c8e41723fa41a630143242750738bca.png">Carl’s Jr.</a> and <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/InNOut.svg/1200px-InNOut.svg.png">In N’ Out Burger</a> have all adopted bright red and yellow for their color schemes.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, <a href="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL5680150M/Personal_space_the_behavioral_basis_of_design.">dimmer lighting</a> brings people closer together, causes them to speak more softly and leads to longer stays. <a href="http://foodpsychology.cornell.edu/discoveries/music-and-light">Soft jazz music</a> tends to also keep people in the restaurant longer – which has been shown to lead to higher food ratings (and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/8385870_Effect_of_ambience_on_food_intake_and_food_choice">a larger bill</a>). </p>
<p>In short, fast food and family-friendly places typically don’t want to encourage people to hang around. Bright lighting, seating arrangements that don’t offer a lot of privacy and loud music create an atmosphere that facilitates turnover, clearing the way for new customers. </p>
<p>High-end restaurants, on the other hand – with their plush decor, dimmer lighting and more comfortable furniture – make customers more likely to linger over post-dinner desserts or order one more round.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74915/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Frank T. McAndrew does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The color scheme, the music, even the weight of the servers – all can play a role in getting customers to spend money.Frank T. McAndrew, Cornelia H. Dudley Professor of Psychology, Knox CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/696782016-12-20T09:02:25Z2016-12-20T09:02:25ZChristmas stuffing: here’s what happens to your body when you overeat<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149712/original/image-20161212-26063-1820t4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/227788783?src=kuuE-F2kzdcK-8kBMvgCUQ-1-17&id=227788783&size=medium_jpg">Bacho/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the festive season approaches, our attentions turn to Christmas dinner. But it is also the season of overeating and feeling stuffed. So, before you reach for just one more roast potato, let’s consider what really goes on in our digestive system when we consume large amounts of food.</p>
<p>Our digestive system runs from the entry point (the mouth) to the exit point (the anus) but for the average person, what goes on between these two points is a mystery. The function of the digestive system is to turn food into useful currency for the body to burn, grow or store for future use. This process begins in the mouth where the teeth, tongue and salivary glands facilitate mechanical and chemical digestion to form a bolus (a ball of food) that fits down the oesophagus and into the stomach. Imagine trying to get a tortilla chip from your mouth to your stomach in the form that it comes out of the bag; it’s going to hurt.</p>
<p>The stomach is a muscular bag that sits inside the abdomen and it is usually no bigger than your fist when empty. However, it has the capacity to expand and accommodate a much larger volume. The specialised muscle is folded to allow expansion as the stomach fills, and it produces acid to help break food down as well as churning to mechanically smash up food. The empty stomach contains about 40ml of <a href="http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/mp500210c">liquid</a>, but the average “full” volume of the stomach is about 800-1,000ml – and this is increased in people who are obese and <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031938401006199">binge eat</a>.</p>
<p>After food has passed through the stomach, it goes into the small intestine where digestion continues and the (now broken down nutrients) are absorbed into the blood stream. The small intestine, which is about 20ft long, connects to the large intestine, which is about 6ft long. The large intestine sees most of the water absorbed into the bloodstream and the remaining waste matter made into faeces.</p>
<h2>Another wafer-thin mint?</h2>
<p>We often feel very full after eating a large amount because there is a delay for signals from the stretching stomach to reach the brain.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rXH_12QWWg8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>You may wonder why you go from feeling hungry to feeling full to bursting without any in-between feeling. Our body has a very complex way of telling us when we are hungry and full; it requires a number of hormones that are produced in response to the presence or absence of food in the digestive system. If we get the amount of food we consume right, we have the feeling of satiety – fullness that suppresses the urge to eat.</p>
<p>Two of the most important hormones are ghrelin and leptin. If we consider these hormones simplistically, ghrelin increases appetite and leptin decreases appetite. They are produced predominantly in the stomach and fat cells respectively. Grehlin is usually at a high level before you eat and reduces afterwards. Leptin tells the brain that we are full. So you would assume that people with more fat cells would produce more leptin and therefore be more likely to want to eat less. However, obese people build up a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17212793">resistance</a> to leptin, which means they have to produce more and more leptin for it to have an effect and reduce their appetite.</p>
<p>So here are a few things to bear in mind before you have that last wafer-thin mint.</p>
<p><strong>What happens when I feel full to bursting?</strong> The food can go one of two ways, further into the digestive system or back where it came from in the form of vomiting. Overeating causes indigestion, when the stomach acid churns up into the oesophagus. The stomach is “numb” to the acid but the oesophagus isn’t, which is why acid reflux burns.</p>
<p>The body also has to divert much of its energy to digesting the food, thereby causing us to feel tired and drowsy.</p>
<p><strong>Can my stomach burst from over-eating?</strong> Sadly, yes. There are cases where the stomach becomes so large that it ruptures from the sheer volume of food within it. One <a href="http://www.journalmc.org/index.php/JMC/article/view/635/407">23-year-old</a> lady had over 2,500ml within her stomach, which caused it to swell so much that it filled the whole of her abdomen, from her ribs to her pelvis. It eventually perforated, necessitating emergency surgery.</p>
<p><strong>Can I die from overeating?</strong> Yes, there are a couple of reports of people dying from over-indulging. This is very rare, but it happens. One person died from tearing their oesophagus, the tube that connects the mouth to the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4584513/">stomach</a> and others have actually <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12935652">ruptured</a> their stomach by <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=2000535">over-eating</a>.</p>
<h2>Still hungry now?</h2>
<p>One of the largest (Christmas) meals ever consumed by one person saw an <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1341683/Donna-Simpsons-feast-The-30-000-calorie-Christmas-feast-eaten-worlds-fattest-mum-ONE-hour-sitting.html">American</a> woman, in 2010 consume 50lbs of turkey, 30lbs of ham, 35lbs of potatoes, veg and stuffing, which was then washed down with eight pints of gravy and relish and followed by dessert. This meal consisted of 30,000 calories; to put this into context, males and females are recommended to consume <a href="http://www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/1126.aspx?categoryid=51">2,500 and 2,000</a> calories daily, respectively.</p>
<p>The average UK Christmas dinner is believed to contain in the region of 6,000-7,000 <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-4001902/How-Christmas-Day-feast-contains-number-calories-TWELVE-Big-Macs-118-chicken-nuggets.html">calories</a>, which requires a lot of Boxing Day calorie <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/0/20587258">burning</a>. Now where’s the link to that New Year gym membership?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/69678/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adam Taylor is affiliated with the Anatomical Society
</span></em></p>We usually consume about three times the necessary daily calories over the Christmas period.Adam Taylor, Director of the Clinical Anatomy Learning Centre & Senior Lecturer in Anatomy, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.